Four most shocking Who Wants to be a Millionaire moments since Jeremy Clarkson took over
We take a look at some of the most shocking moments on the show
IN the six years since ITV’s reboot of Who Wants to be a Millionaire, the quiz show has seen a number of huge moments.
Throughout its tenure, the knowledge quiz show has seen catastrophic errors, so-called ‘stitch-ups’ and it has made some very wealthy winners.
Jeremy Clarkson, 64, previously replaced Chris Tarrant, 78, as host in 2018 for the revamped series.
This was to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Who Wants to be a Millionaire, which became a global phenomenon.
Here, The Sun takes a look at some of the most memorable and shocking moments that we have seen so far on ITV.
Millionaire made
Since Jeremy Clarkson began hosting the show, only one contestant has won the top prize.
History and politics teacher Donald Fear became the sixth winner overall when he bagged £1million in September 2020.
He also made history by finishing as the first contestant with lifelines to spare, having only used the ’50:50′.
Host Jeremy described him as “an encyclopaedia with a moustache” and the “best entrant in the programme’s history”.
He added: “It’s like sitting next to the internet in a pink shirt.”
Mistaken identity
When appearing on a celebrity special of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire back in 2022, Richard Madeley made an epic mistake – by referring to host Jeremy Clarkson as Chris Tarrant.
The Good Morning Britain host was hoping to raise funds for the Cornwall Air Ambulance and Saint Francis Hospice when he repeatedly misnamed Jezza.
During the initial £100 question ‘What type of board is traditionally used at a seancé to communicate with the dead?’, Richard clearly had his head in the game by answering: “It’s C, Chris. Ouija board. Final answer.”
He then did it again during the £200 question, answering ‘Which of these abbreviations is used when someone wants something done immediately’ with “I shall answer as soon as possible, Chris. It’s B.”
“I’m not Chris,” Jeremy responded, with laughter coming from the audience, as Richard quickly apologised and branded himself “senile”.
“This is going to be great this game!” Jeremy laughed, before playing up the gaffe by repeating the question slowly and referring to the prize pot in “guineas”.
Chris Tarrant was famously the original host of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, acting as quiz host on the show from its run between 1998 and 2014.
Major ‘stitch up’
Victoria Johnson was hoped to be a safe to get into six-figure winnings when she revealed her friends call her “Vickypedia”.
However, she went home with just £1,000 after being “stitched up” by her 50-50 lifeline.
Hardest Quiz Show Questions
Would you know the answers to some of quizzing TV's hardest questions
- Who Wants To Be A Millionaire – Earlier this year, fans were left outraged after what they described as the “worst” question in the show’s history. Host Jeremy Clarkson asked: “From the 2000 awards ceremony onwards, the Best Actress Oscar has never been won by a woman whose surname begins with which one of these letters?” The multiple choice answers were between G, K, M and W. In the end, and with the £32,000 safe, player Glen had to make a guess and went for G. It turned out to be correct as Nicole Kidman, Frances McDormand and Kate Winslet are among the stars who have won the Best Actress gong since 2000.
- The 1% Club – Viewers of Lee Mack’s popular ITV show were left dumbfounded by a question that also left the players perplexed. The query went as follows: “Edna’s birthday is on the 6th of April and Jen’s birthday falls on the 15th of October, therefore Amir’s birthday must be the ‘X’ of January.” It turns out the conundrum links the numbers with its position in the sentence, so 6th is the sixth word and 15th is the fifteenth word. Therefore, Amir’s birthday is January 24th, corresponding to the 24th word in the sentence.
- The Chase – The ITV daytime favourite left fans scratching their heads when it threw up one of the most bizarre questions to ever grace the programme. One of the questions asked the player: “Someone with a nightshade intolerance should avoid eating what?” The options were – sweetcorn, potatoes, carrots – with Steve selecting sweetcorn but the correct answer was potatoes.
Playing for the question: “Which of these companies was not founded in Sweden?”
The options presented were H&M, Spotify, Kopparberg and Lidl.
Unsure about the answer, she opted to use the 50/50 lifeline – removing two answers from the board.
Revealing she had “an inkling”, Victoria told Jeremy, after he asked, that her first thought was Spotify.
The two answers left remaining were Spotify and Lidl – and the player doubled down on her initial guess as the final answer.
However, Lidl turned out to be correct – meaning Victoria lost £3,000, but went home with £1,000.
Writing on social media, one person said: “Producers stitched her up there good n proper.”
Mega money loss
Jackie Lynch from Bayswater was criticised for making the expensive mistake of using up her lifelines too early – costing her £875,000.
She initially sailed through the competition, although she used up her lifelines in the first few rounds.
But as her confidence increased, it seemed like Jackie would do well as she continued to climb the money ladder.
By the time she reached £125,000 unscathed, Jackie decided to use her safety net, meaning that prize money was in the bag.
But she was tripped up by the next question, with no lifelines left.
Jeremy asked: “Dubbed the ‘Fight of the Century,’ Floyd Mayweather’s 2015 boxing match against which opponent was the highest-grossing in history?”
He then read out the multiple choice answers which were: “A: Oscar De La Hoya, B: Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, C: Manny Pacquiao or D: Conor McGregor.”
As Jackie realised this would have been a good question for her friend who she already phoned, she admitted she can’t go any further.
Before revealing that she would have guessed De La Hoya, Jackie firmly said that she was not going to guess and will take the money instead.
The correct answer was Manny Pacquiao.
Jackie’s decision to take the money and quit the competition meant she missed out on her chance to bag a further £875,000.
And viewers thought she could have done this if she hadn’t used up her lifelines on the earlier questions.
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire is currently available to watch on ITVX.