First aired on the fourth of September 1998 the incredibly popular and sometimes controversial British television series “Who wants to be a Millionaire” was an instant success. Created and produced for the ITV Network by David Briggs and hosted from 1998-2014 by Chris Tarrant and then more recently by Jeremy Clarkson. The lucky contestant is chosen after winning a “Fastest Finger First” round with other contestants picked from the audience. They then sit opposite the Quiz Master to answer multiple choice questions. There is a cash amount awarded for each correct answer and as the questions get harder and harder the money prize gets bigger and bigger.
The Contestant can use up to three lifelines if they get stuck on a question and they can also choose not to answer at all and just walk away with any winnings they have accumulated. The prize money starts off at a measly £100 but climbs fairly rapidly to £1000, then doubles each time until £500,000! If the final question is answered correctly the excited contestant walks away with £1,000,000! If they are clever enough to get that far and win that incredible amount of money they would be very wise to invest in some Financial advisor software and invest their sudden fortune wisely.
From the first controversial Millionaire winner, Judith Keppel to British Army winner Major Charles Ingram there have been allegations of cheating and show rigging. There was even a documentary expose on the Ingram scandal after he, his wife and a co-conspirator, Tecwen Whittock were found guilty of fraud.