Second year medical student Mainga Bhima will spend the windfall on her tuition fees - and hopes having fewer money worries will give her more time to focus on her studies.
Social media lit up on Sunday night when Mainga sat in front of host Jeremy Clarkson as the final contestant of the night’s show.
Remarkably, the £64,000 question was about the very publisher Mainga had worked for before joining the University of Bristol. The 32-year-old couldn’t help but laugh, before saying: “I can’t believe this... this is just the weirdest thing.”
She told Clarkson the answer was Random House “a million times over”.
Sadly, Mainga missed out on the £125,000 after answering a sports question wrong, despite phoning a friend for help.
“Taking part in the show was extremely stressful - Fastest Finger First is as terrible as you imagine it to be!” Mainga joked. “The whole day was so surreal, but I'm really pleased with how it turned out. Except the question about the KGB – doh!
“I’m absolutely delighted though! I finally have enough money to pay my tuition fees - as medicine is my second degree, I am not entitled to a tuition fee loan.
“The money takes the pressure off - this has been a challenging year to be a student with none of the usual avenues for earning money alongside our studies.
“I applied to the show on a complete whim after a long day of doing internet surveys for fractions of pennies. I can now devote more time to my studies instead of worrying about finances all the time.”
Mainga had to keep the news from friends and family for two months until the show aired.
The trainee medic graduated from Edinburgh University in 2010 before embarking on a career in publishing.
“I was extremely fortunate to work with some amazing people and have some great opportunities, but I always felt like the science side of me was being neglected,” Mainga explained. “As I approached my 30s, I realised publishing was not the right fit.
“I needed to make a big change, so I quit my job, left London, moved back in with my parents and began a two-year journey to get into medical school. I completed an Access Course alongside working part-time and applying to medicine.
“I chose Bristol because I wanted to be in a buzzing city, and Bristol Medical School was particularly welcoming to mature students.”
And, she added, her success has not been a solo effort: “I'm very grateful to everyone who has been so supportive. No one does anything completely by themselves, and I'm very lucky to have friends and family rooting for me, which makes everything a lot easier.”