Paedophile hid sick past from TV producers to appear on prime time £69m Euromillions advert
A TV ad for the National Lottery features a convicted paedophile grinning brazenly at the camera.
Simon Jones, 40, appears in a wedding-themed commercial which was shown on Monday night to promote a £69million EuroMillions jackpot.
The advert — which was filmed last year — has been on sporadically since January and will be back on air ahead of tonight’s rollover draw.
Jones, of Cardiff, was caught with sick images of children and jailed five years ago.
But he kept his vile past secret when he landed the TV part.
A source said: “If he was in the background then I don’t think anyone would have batted an eyelid, but it just looks like he hasn’t learnt from what he’s done.
“It’s the brazenness of it, it’s almost like it’s a lesson not learnt. There’s no humbleness about it.
“He has done his time and got out and is now on the sex offenders register. It is known that he posed a significant risk.
“It’s difficult to get work, but working as an extra might be somewhere you can slip under the radar.”
The source said that Jones was snared by officers tracking images put online to trap offenders.
In 2014, Jones pleaded guilty to three counts of possessing indecent photographs of a child, and was jailed for a year at Cardiff crown court.
He is believed to have served six months of his year-long sentence in HMP Parc in Bridgend, South Wales.
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He was also ordered to pay £100 victims surcharge, sign a sexual offence prevention order for ten years and register as a sex offender for ten years.
When approached by The Sun, Jones confirmed he had filmed the advert for the National Lottery, and admitted that he had a criminal conviction.
Last night lottery operator Camelot said: “Prior to their involvement in a National Lottery advert, all extras are required to sign a release form in which they agree to a number of conditions and provide certain warranties.”
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