SECRET Millionaire Paul Ragan says donating £65,000 to three Derby good causes helped him to come to terms with emotional scars he carries from spending years of his childhood caring for his ill mother.

In last night's episode of the C4 programme, Mr Ragan agreed to live undercover and on the bread-line in Derby to meet other carers, before deciding whom he would spend thousands of pounds helping.

Now, after handing over his donations, he has pledged to continue supporting the people he met and will revisit the city next month.

He said: "This wasn't a one-off visit for me. I am going to maintain the relationships and provide support to families."

The entrepreneur, who has set up 80 small companies, spent eight days in the city.

During his visit the wealthy businessman, from Wales, stayed in a bedsit in Allenton and survived on only £60 a week – a carer's allowance.

Mr Ragan, 42, pretended he was filming a programme about carers in order to find out more about families in the area before deciding on who would get a share of his fortune.

The cover story was one which rang true for Mr Ragan, who cared for his mother, who suffered from schizophrenia, from the age of five until 10.

Seeing other children caring for sick parents – such as 12-year-old Sophie Walker, who looks after her mother, who suffers from Huntington's disease – was testing for Mr Ragan.

He said: "It was a very difficult period to go through, more so because I'm now a father of four young children.

"It made me recognise where my weaknesses are and that is emotional.

"I think, as a kid growing up looking after my mum, I shed all my years as a youngster and now I perhaps have a hardened or tough exterior. It is the emotional side I found quite difficult to reveal during the programme."

On the day he left Derby he handed over £50,000 to the Lewis Mighty Fund, £10,000 to Maria Hanson, who runs the charity Me & Dee and £5,000 to the Walker family.

Mr Ragan said: "I'm coming back to Derby in April to see them and I'm also taking a more active role in the administration of the charity Me and Dee. They are amazing at providing treats for terminally ill children such as driving an Aston Martin or getting a limousine to the cinema.

"They are the little treats which would cost £100, what I might spend on a bottle of wine."

Among the people he helped were the parents of five-year-old Lewis Mighty who launched a £300,000 fund-raising campaign to send their son to America for cutting-edge treatment.

Lewis has neuroblastoma, a rare form of childhood cancer, and has been given a 20% chance of surviving the year. The fund is nearing the half-way mark.

Lewis' mum, Jaime, said: "It is a huge boost for us and since the show was filmed we have stayed in touch with Paul who was so generous and is keen to carry on helping the appeal."

The Walker family, of Addison Road, Derby, are now planning a holiday of a lifetime to Disneyland, Florida, thanks to the money from Mr Ragan.