Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (UK game show)

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? is a British television quiz show that offered a maximum cash prize of one millionpounds for correctly answering successive multiple-choice questions of increasing difficulty. One contestant played at a time and originally had no time limit to answer questions. Contestants were presented with the question and possible answers before they decided whether to attempt an answer or walk away with what they have already won.

The show first aired on 4 September 1998 and aired its final episode on 11 February 2014. It was presented by Chris Tarrant and produced by Victory Television for the ITV network. It was based on a format devised by David Briggs, who, along with Steven Knight and Mike Whitehill, devised a number of the promotional games for Chris Tarrant's breakfast show on Capital FM radio. The original working title for the show was Cash Mountain.

The show has been exported to many other countries, all of which follow the same general format. Rights to both the format and all UK episodes of the show were put up for sale by Celador in March 2006, as the first step towards the sale of Celador's formats division. These were acquired by the Dutch company 2waytraffic.[2]  2waytraffic was in turn acquired by Sony Pictures Entertainment in 2008.[3]

On 22 October 2013, it was announced that Tarrant had decided to quit the show after 15 years. Due to this, ITV decided to cancel Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? after the contract finished, stating that there would not be any further specials beyond the ones that had already been planned.[4] [5]  Tarrant's final live celebrity edition aired on 19 December 2013. On the day before (18 December), Tarrant pre-recorded two other celebrity episodes to be shown in early 2014. The final episode, a clip show entitled "Chris' Final Answer", aired on 11 February 2014.[6]



Contents
[hide]  *1 Broadcast details  ==Broadcast details[ edit] == Originally broadcast on successive evenings for around ten days, the series later appeared weekly on ITV in a primetime slot on Saturday evenings, and also occasionally on Tuesday evenings. The episodes lasted for one hour (including commercial breaks). The first contestant was Graham Elwell, who won £64,000.
 * 2 Gameplay
 * 2.1 Lifelines
 * 2.2 1998–2007 format
 * 2.3 2010 clock format
 * 3 Text game (2004–2007)
 * 4 Top prize winners
 * 4.1 Judith Keppel (20 November 2000)
 * 4.2 David Edwards (21 April 2001)
 * 4.3 Charles Ingram (18 September 2001)
 * 4.4 Robert Brydges (29 September 2001)
 * 4.5 Pat Gibson (24 April 2004)
 * 4.6 Ingram Wilcox (23 September 2006)
 * 5 Controversies
 * 5.1 Incorrect answer to question accepted
 * 5.2 One Foot in the Grave
 * 5.3 Ambiguous question
 * 5.4 Charles Ingram affair
 * 5.5 Robert Brydges affair
 * 5.6 Phone a Friend syndicates
 * 6 Series overview
 * 7 References
 * 7.1 Footnotes
 * 7.2 Bibliography
 * 8 External links

At its peak in 1999, the show pulled in up to 19 million viewers (an astonishing one in three of the British population), often when it only had a half-hour timeslot, before declining to around 8 million by 2003.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-7" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[7]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">In a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000, voted for by industry professionals, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? was placed 23rd.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Tarrant's catchphrases on the show include "Is that your final answer?", "But we don't want to give you that" (meaning that he would like the contestant to go on and win even more money), more recently at the end of the show, "But the cashpoint is now closed for tonight" or when a contestant is relieved, he sometimes says "Quite pleased, then?"

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Variants on the format were screened from time to time as special episodes were produced, such as celebrities playing for charity, couples games (where both partners must agree on the answer), Mother's Day specials, etc.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Since April 2011, only celebrity contestants appeared on the show, in special live editions that coincided with holidays such as Christmas, Mother's Day, Remembrance Day, with the end of a school term, etc. The 'Clock Format' is still used during live celebrity shows. However, during Series 29 in 2012, there were three The People Playspecials that were broadcast live for three consecutive nights between 9 and 11 July. These specials featured non-celebrity contestants and allowed viewers to play along at home.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-8" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[8]  A fourth The People Play special aired on 7 May 2013 with a further two broadcast the following Tuesday nights with the last ever People's Play episode for the contestants on 21 May 2013. ==Gameplay<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Members of the public applied to appear on the show by calling a premium-rate telephone number or sending a premium-rate text message. Applications could also be made at the ITV website via a system of £1 "credits", as well as through a contestant casting audition. Such auditions are held around the UK at various locations. Contestants were chosen from the large number of applicants through a combination of random selection and ability to answer test general knowledge questions.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Contestants answered a list of 12 increasingly difficult questions to win the top prize of £1 million. Contestants could choose to leave the game at any point and claim the prize for the last correctly answered question without penalty. Answering the second question correctly guarantees that a contestant will leave with no less than £1,000 if they provide an incorrect answer to a later question, and answering the seventh question correctly increases the minimum payout to £50,000. A contestant who answers either the first or second question incorrectly leaves with nothing.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">On the final part of each programme whilst a game is in progress, the "Out of time" signal (which usually consists of one long blast of a chord played from brass instruments) is sounded, which Chris refers to as the 'klaxon'. Most recently in the live specials, Chris tells the viewers on the final part that the klaxon could sound to end the game and the question will be null and void (the question won't count). If however a future live special is scheduled, then the contestant will return on the next programme. ===Lifelines<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Three lifelines were presented at the beginning of the game in order to aid contestants:

===1998–2007 format<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Prior to 2007, ten contestants competed against each other on each episode in the "Fastest Finger First" round in order to determine which contestant would play the main portion of the game. Originally, players were to answer a four-choice question similar to those in the main game. This was later changed to where a question and four answers were presented, and each contestant ordered those answers in the manner specified. The contestant who achieved the correct order in the fastest time moved to the second portion of the game. If that contestant chose to stop the game early or was eliminated following an incorrect answer, a new contestant was chosen in the same manner from the remaining nine contestants. If the question is missed, it is thrown out and a new question is played in the same manner. If two or more players tie for the fastest time, those players play another question to break the tie. If any contestants are visually impaired, the host reads the question and four choices all at once, then repeats the choices after the music begins.
 * Ask the Audience: Audience members use touch pads to designate what they believe the correct answer to be. The percentage of the audience choosing each specific option is displayed to the contestant.
 * 50/50: The computer eliminates two incorrect answers, leaving one incorrect answer and the correct answer.
 * Phone-a-Friend: The contestant calls one of up to 5 friends, who provided their phone numbers in advance. The contestant has 30 seconds to read the question and answer choices to the friend, who then has the remaining time to offer input.
 * Switch (2002, 2003, 2010–14): The computer replaces, at the contestant's request, one question with another of the same monetary value. Any lifelines used on the original question are not reinstated. This started back in 2002, when celebrities remove a lifeline and a 'Q' symbol will appear on the selected lifeline, therefore, the selected lifeline can't be used again. Used on the Live 300th show, 2002 Christmas specials and the April 2003 celebrity special only.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Additionally, contestants were required to answer 15 questions to win the top prize. The minimum payouts were £1,000 for answering five questions correctly and £32,000 for answering ten questions. ===2010 clock format<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The UK version adopted the US 'Clock Format' on 3 August 2010, still using the 12-question money tree and that the final 5 questions would not have a time limit (unlike the U.S. version), and using the original lifelines. Contestants also receive a fourth lifeline; "Switch the Question" or "Switch", upon completing question 7.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Contestants would have to answer the first seven questions within a specific time limit: 15 seconds for questions one and two, and 30 seconds for each question thereafter.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-9" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[9]  Questions 8-12 were not timed. If, during the first seven questions, the contestant ran out of time on a question, their winnings would drop back down to either nothing (on question 1 or 2) or the £1,000 milestone (if they passed that point), as if the question had been answered incorrectly. The clock was stopped when a contestant chose to use a lifeline on questions 1-7. ==Text game (2004–2007)<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">On 23 October 2004, the show included a new feature called the "Walkaway Text Game". The competition was offered to viewers at home to play the text game where they had to answer the question, if a contestant decides to walk home with the cash prize they have got, by choosing the letters 'A, B, C or D' within 30 seconds to the number 808 900 07797 808 900. The viewer who answered the question wins £1,000 by having their entries selected randomly.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">On 9 September 2006, there were some changes. The competition stayed the same but this time, they play it before some commercial breaks. A question to which the contestant has given their final answer, but the correct answer has not yet been revealed, is offered as a competition to viewers. Entry is via SMS text message at a cost of £1 per entry, and the competition runs through the commercial break, after which the answer is revealed and the game continues. One viewer who answered the question correctly wins £1,000. The text game ended on 28 July 2007.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-10" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[10] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-11" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[11] ==Top prize winners<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == See also: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Who_Wants_to_Be_a_Millionaire%3F_top_prize_winners List of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? top prize winners]===Judith Keppel (20 November 2000)<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Judith Cynthia Aline Keppel (born 18 August 1942),<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-12" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[12]  a cash-strapped garden designer at the time, was the first one-million-pound winner and only woman to have won the top prize on the United Kingdom version of the programme.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Keppel's victory was achieved exactly a year after John Carpenter became the first winner of the US version of the show as well as the first winner worldwide. The correct answer to the winning question, which appears above, refers to members of Keppel's family, who can be traced back through the lineage of her noble grandfather ===David Edwards (21 April 2001)<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">David Edwards (born 1947 in Barry, South Wales) is a former physics teacher at Cheadle High School andDenstone College in Staffordshire who became the first man to win the million pounds on the British Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? on 21 April 2001, and only the second person to answer all 15 questions correctly, and hence win the prize, after Judith Keppel. He competed in both series of Are You an Egghead?, reaching the last 16 in 2008, and the final in 2009, where he lost to fellow Millionaire winner Pat Gibson.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">His million pound question was "If you planted the seeds of Quercus robur, what would grow?" The options were Trees, Flowers, Vegetables and Grain. The correct answer was Trees. He used no lifelines for this question, having used all three on a previous question. The phone-a-friend he used was his son, Richard Edwards (who later won £125,000 on the show). ===Charles Ingram (18 September 2001)<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Charles Ingram (born 6 August 1963) is a former British Army major who made headlines in Britain after cheating in the game show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? in 2001. He was convicted of deception in 2003, and was given an 18-month suspended sentence, although he maintains that he did not cheat.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The ITV programme was produced by Celador at Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire. After winning £1,000,000, the payout was suspended when Ingram was accused of cheating by having his wife, Diana, and an accomplice, Tecwen Whittock, cough as Ingram announced the correct answer from the available choices. Following a trial at Southwark Crown Court lasting four weeks (including jury deliberation for three-and-a-half days), which ended soon after a jury member was evicted for discussing the case in public, Charles and Diana Ingram and Whittock were convicted by a majority verdict of "procuring the execution of a valuable security by deception" on 7 April 2003. ===Robert Brydges (29 September 2001)<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Robert Kempe Brydges<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-bbc_13-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[13]  is an Oxford-educated banker from Holland Park, London.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-telegraph_14-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[14]  He has previously acted as director of GNI Fund Management, an investment brokers firm, earning £300,000 a year and held the position of vice-president of US bank Hanover Trust.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-digitalspy_15-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[15]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">On 29 September 2001, Brydges won £1 million,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-dailymail_16-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[16]  and became the fourth person to answer the final question correctly.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-thefreelibrary_17-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[17] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-guardian_18-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[18]  Brydges' appearance in the show fuelled controversy because of his wealth prior to participation (see below). ===Pat Gibson (24 April 2004)<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Pat Gibson (born 19 July 1961 Galway, Ireland) is an Irish quiz player. He is a multiple world champion in quizzing and one of the world's most successful quiz players. He is best known for winning several quiz shows and being a panellist on Eggheads. He was born and educated in Ireland but has lived in the United Kingdomfor many years and competes as part of the England quiz team.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">On 24 April 2004 he became the fourth contestant to win the £1m jackpot on the quiz show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. On the question below, he still had his 50:50 and phone a friend. He used the 50:50 first, where B. Belmont Stakes and D. Preakness Stakes disappeared. He then used his phone-a-friend option, phoning Mark Kerr (a highly ranked British quiz player and winner of TV's "Brainiest Estate Agent" title) who said he was 90% sure the answer was Arlington Million, which was Pat's original instinct. He was the only person in the United Kingdom to reach the one million pound question with two lifelines remaining. He used his Ask-the-Audience on the £64,000 question, and kept 50:50 and phone a friend back until the final question.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">He correctly answered 'Arlington Million' to win £1 million. ===Ingram Wilcox (23 September 2006)<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Ingram Wilcox (born 1944) is a British quiz enthusiast who is best known for becoming the fifth and final person to win one million pounds on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? in the United Kingdom on September 23, 2006. When he reached the million-pound question, he had already used up all his lifelines. In two previous appearances he reached the "fastest finger first" stage but did not get through. His final question was "Which boxer was famous for striking the gong in the introduction to J. Arthur Rank films?" He correctly chose'Bombardier' Billy Wells to win the prize.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-19" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[19] ==Controversies<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == ===Incorrect answer to question accepted<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">In March 1999, contestant Tony Kennedy was asked "Theoretically, what is the minimum number of strokes with which a tennis player can win a set?", with possible answers of 12, 24, 36, and 48. He calculated that a player would need four shots to win a game, with six games in a set, giving an answer of 24. This won him the £64,000 question.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The Daily Mirror newspaper reported the next day, with the pun headline 'Fault!', that a player could win a game without playing a shot if their opponent double-faulted on every serve. This would allow a winning set in 12 strokes, assuming the player aced each of his or her own serves. The programme acknowledged the mistake and apologised for it, but Kennedy was allowed to keep his prize money (an eventual £125,000).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-20" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[20] ===One Foot in the Grave<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The broadcast of Judith Keppel's victory as the first jackpot winner on the UK version of Millionaire coincided with the transmission of the final episode of the popular BBC sitcom One Foot in the Grave.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-w184_21-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[21]  The news of Keppel's win, recorded the preceding Sunday, was leaked to the press; ITV announced Keppel's success at a press conference on the day of broadcast. David Renwick, writer of One Foot was annoyed that this would take "audience interest" away from the sitcom. He said that the early announcement of the outcome of Millionaire was "naked opportunism", and it "would have been more honorable to let the show go out in the normal way". He pointed out that they also "killed off any element of tension or surprise in their own programme", but "television is all about ratings".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-w184_21-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[21]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">It was alleged that Millionaire's production company Celador had rigged the show to spoil the BBC's expected high ratings for the sitcom's finale. Richard Wilson in particular was quoted as saying that ITV had "planned" the win, adding "it seems a bit unfair to take the audience away from Victor's last moments on earth."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-wilson_22-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[22]  Richard Webber's account, in his 2006 book, cites "unnamed BBC sources" as those who "questioned the authenticity of Keppel's victory".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-w184_21-2" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[21]  ITV was upset at the allegation, claiming that it "undermined viewers' faith in the programme." Leslie Hill, the chairman of ITV, wrote to Sir Christopher Bland, the chairman of the BBC Board of Governors, to complain about the issue. The corporation apologised, saying that any suggestion of 'rigging' "did not represent the official view of the BBC."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-independent_23-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[23]  Eleven viewers complained about the quiz show to the Independent Television Commission (ITC), but Millionaire was cleared of any wrongdoing.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-cleared_24-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[24] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-casey_25-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[25] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-bfi_26-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[26] ===Ambiguous question<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">On a special Valentine's Day celebrity edition of the show in 2006, which aired 11 February, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and Jackie Llewelyn-Bowen reached the £1,000,000 question, which was "Translated from the Latin, what is the official motto of the United States?" The Bowens chose answer A, "In God, We Trust", but the correct answer given was actually answer B, "Out of Many, one" which is the English translation for the Latin E pluribus unum. Because they answered the £1,000,000 question incorrectly, they lost £468,000. However, the question turned out to be ambiguous, as "In God, We Trust" is the legal motto for the United States; the phrase is found on many American monetary coins, though it is not of Latin origin. Because of this, they were invited back to play again, reinstating their previously lost £468,000 to bring them back up to £500,000. The contestants decided not to risk it this time and left with the £500,000.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-27" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[27]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">No other contestant since then has ever lost £468,000. Before that, the most money ever lost was £218,000, which has occurred twice when contestants have answered the 14th question incorrectly, lowering their prize from £250,000 to just £32,000. The two contestants were Duncan Bickley and Rob Mitchell in October 2000 and October 2003 respectively. ===Charles Ingram affair<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === Main article: Charles IngramCharles Ingram and his wife Diana.<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">In an episode of the show recorded on 9 and 10 September 2001, Charles Ingram won the £1 million prize. During the recording it was noticed that a suspicious pattern of coughing could be heard. Ingram's unusual behaviour in the hot seat also drew attention. Analysed, it was believed that another contestant, Tecwen Whittock, sitting behind him, was offering him prompts in the form of coughs, indicating the correct answers. On some of the questions, Ingram read aloud all of the four answers, until a significant cough was heard, before choosing his answer. In some cases, he dismissed an answer, read aloud the answer choices again, and then picked the answer that he had earlier dismissed. It also appeared on the tapes that after Ingram repeated a particular incorrect answer several times believing it to be correct, Whittock coughed and then loudly whispered 'No!'

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">After Ingram won the million, Tecwen Whittock won the next Fastest Finger game and so took to the hotseat. He reached the £4,000 mark, but dropped back to £1,000 after answering a cookery question incorrectly.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The Prosecution suggested that Ingram's wife, Diana (who had won £32,000 on a previous show, as had her brother), had organised the scam. Pager telephone records revealed what appeared to be a practice session for another plan to cheat the system that was not subsequently carried out. The Prosecution claimed that the original plan was for Ingram to hide four pagers on his body that would vibrate when an accomplice called the pager indicating the correct answer. It would seem that during one of Diana's questions, an audible cough could be heard after Tarrant had read out all the questions to her, with the cough landing at the end of the correct answer.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Following a trial at Southwark Crown Court lasting four weeks, Ingram, his wife Diana, and Tecwen Whittock were convicted of "procuring the execution of a valuable security by deception" on 7 April 2003. Ingram and his wife were each given suspended 18-month prison sentences and fined £15,000, while Tecwen Whittock received a 12-month suspended sentence and was fined £10,000. Together with legal costs, the Ingrams had to pay £115,000, in addition to not receiving his £1,000,000.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Despite the conviction, the Ingrams and Tecwen Whittock continue to deny that they colluded or acted dishonestly. They appealed against the conviction. An ITVdocumentary entitled Millionaire: A Major Fraud, presented by Martin Bashir, was broadcast in Britain on 21 April 2003 with a follow-up two weeks later, Millionaire: The Final Answer. The first advert in the first advertisement break in Major Fraud was for Benylin cough syrup.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-28" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[28]  Excerpts from the recording were broadcast but with enhanced audio highlighting the coughs emanating, the Prosecution alleged, from Tecwen Whittock. Immediately after Major Fraud, the uncut recording, but again with enhanced audio, was broadcast on ITV2. Major Fraud included additional video recorded during the programme of Mrs. Ingram sitting in the audience and apparently prompting Major Ingram with her own coughing and making glances in the direction of Tecwen Whittock. Major Fraud also contained interviews with production staff and some contestants present at the recording describing how they felt that something unusual had been happening. Notably, none of the defendants were interviewed. Ingram described Major Fraud and the programme broadcast on ITV2 as "one of the greatest TV editing con tricks in history".

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">On 24 July 2003, the British Army ordered Charles Ingram to resign his commission as a Major.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">James Plaskett has argued in favour of the innocence of Ingram, his wife, and Whittock.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-29" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[29]  Plaskett's essay led to journalist Bob Woffinden, who had a long-time interest in miscarriages of justice, publishing a two-page article in the 9 October 2004 edition of the British newspaper the Daily Mail entitled 'Is the Coughing Major Innocent?' Jon Ronson, who attended the trial and had written two articles about it in The Guardian, wrote a piece about Plaskett's theory entitled 'Are the Millionaire three innocent?'.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-30" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[30]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Plaskett may also be heard at Episode 29 of The Pod Delusion podcast<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-31" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[31]  being interviewed by political blogger, Mark Thompson, who was himself led by Plaskett's essay to take an interest in the case of The Millionaire Three. In January 2006, Plaskett himself made it into the hot seat and won £250,000. He subsequently sponsored Ingram for £25,000 to run the 2006 Flora London Marathon for the charity SENSE. ===Robert Brydges affair<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The participation of Robert Brydges raised the ire of Brydges's neighbour, Sarah Elliott, who said "Bob is loaded. When I found out he was going on the show I knew he would win. He's as sharp as a razor and has no problem under pressure. But gambling on the tricky questions must be a lot easier when you're already worth millions. I suppose £16,000 must seem like loose change to him."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-digitalspy_15-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[15]  Elliott's grandmother was less kind, saying "It is so unfair that someone like Robert should be allowed on the show. That family certainly does not need the money. It won't make any difference to them because they're filthy rich and live like millionaires anyway."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-dailymail_16-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[16]  In addition, the show has been called elitist: presenter Eamonn Holmes suggested live on GMTV that only millionaires or minor royals had a chance of winning the prize.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-bbc2_32-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[32]  A spokesperson for Celador responded "Everybody has an equal chance to get on. It is impossible for us to check how much money people already have when they get on the show. We'd love a penniless binman as our next winner, but it never happens."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-digitalspy_15-2" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[15] ===Phone a Friend syndicates<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">]  === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">In March 2007, various UK newspapers reported that an organised syndicate had been getting quiz enthusiasts onto the show in return for a percentage of their winnings. The rate varied between a quarter and a half depending on the stage reached by the contestant. For this, the contestant received help in getting onto the show. In many cases, the initial calls were made on their behalf. In other cases the contestants made the calls and had the costs refunded but received help with the call back tie-breakers via Skype. In most cases, when the contestants were in the hot seat, they again received help with the phone a friend question that involved the syndicate using Google to find the answers.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The person behind the syndicate was Keith Burgess from Northern Ireland. Burgess admitted to helping around 200 contestants to appear on the show since 1999, for which he estimates to have made around half a million pounds. The show producers are believed to have been aware of this operation. Burgess stated, "The show knows about me and these types of syndicates, but they cover it up to keep the show going." This syndicate resulted in the removal of the Phone-a-Friend lifeline in the United States in 2009.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-33" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[33] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-34" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[34]  An earlier version of a Phone a Friend syndicate was reported in the Northampton Chronicle and Echo during 2003.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Northampton_35-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[35]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Paul Smith, the Managing Director of Celador Productions, stated, "We are aware of Paddy Spooner and what people similar to him are doing, and we have made a priority of changing our question procedure. We are confident we have now made it impossible for anyone to manipulate the system."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Northampton_35-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[35]  Since then, the options of people that can be called have a picture of themselves shown on-air. ==Series overview<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The show aired from 1998 to 2014 on ITV. Over this time, 30 series and 592 episodes were aired in total.