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NEARLY A MILLIONAIRE

Which prime minister never served as foreign secretary?

This Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? question had a teacher stumped in the final round

IN tonight's episode of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? a contestant narrowly missed out on the top prize when he couldn't answer a question about former prime ministers.

Teacher John Robinson, 36, could have scooped a million quid on the ITV show if he knew which ex-PM had never served as Foreign Secretary.

 A contestant on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? failed to answer the final question and missed out on the £1m jackpot
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A contestant on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? failed to answer the final question and missed out on the £1m jackpot

Which prime minister never served as foreign secretary?

John had to answer the question out of four options: A. Winston Churchill B. Alec Douglas-Home C. Anthony Eden D. Harold Macmillan.

But luckily he refused to gamble the £500,000 he had amassed — as he told host Jeremy Clarkson he would have said Anthony Eden, not cigar-chomping Churchill.

John then revealed he could not have faced girlfriend Chloe if he got it wrong and left with his banked £64,000, which was his target beforehand.

The answer was A. Winston Churchill.

The former prime minister who was in number 10 for a total of nine years never held the position, despite leading Britain to victory in WW2.

He was born on November 30, 1874, and died at the age of 90 on January 24, 1965.

 Prime Minister Winston Churchill outside 10 Downing Street, gesturing his famous 'V for Victory' hand signal, June 1943
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Prime Minister Winston Churchill outside 10 Downing Street, gesturing his famous 'V for Victory' hand signal, June 1943Credit: Hulton Archive - Getty

What other roles did Churchill hold?

Churchill represented five constituencies during his career as a Member of Parliament (MP) as a member of the Conservative Party.

In H. H. Asquith's Liberal government, Churchill served as President of the Board of Trade, Home Secretary, and First Lord of the Admiralty, championing prison reform and workers' social security.

He was demoted from that post after playing a key role in the battle at Gallipoli during WW1, which ended in disaster.

While still a serving MP he resigned from the government and returned to the army serving on the front line in France as a major in the Grenadier Guards.

He would return to government in 1916 becoming Minister of Munitions the following year, a post he would remain in till the end of the war.

 Winston Chrchill seated at his desk in the No 10 Annexe Map Room, May 1945
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Winston Chrchill seated at his desk in the No 10 Annexe Map Room, May 1945Credit: PA:Press Association

For how long was he prime minister?

Churchill served as prime minster from 1940-1945, leading Britain to victory in WW2, and again from 1951 to 1955.

Clement Attlee took the position of prime minister for the Labour Party in between Churchill's two terms.

 Portrait of British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill, c.1941
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Portrait of British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill, c.1941Credit: Alamy

What were Winston Churchill's views on race?

There are many people, both now and at Churchill's time, who found his views on race and ethnicity alarming.

As an MP, he showed a very Imperial mindset in his desire to conquer more nations based on his belief that "the Aryan stock is bound to triumph", the Independent reported.

And in 1937, he told the Palestine Royal Commission no great wrong had been done to the Red Indians of America or the black people of Australia, according to the BBC.

Prime Minister Stephen Baldwin was warned not to appoint him to Cabinet because his views were so old-fashioned, with even Churchill's doctor saying: "Winston thinks only of the colour of their skin."

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