This shocking TV moment remains unforgettable to this day: In the English version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, a candidate won millions, but then came the shock: Behind the brilliant victory lay a sophisticated plan and a web of lies. What seemed like an incredible success story turned out to be the most brazen fraud attempt on British TV. You can find out here what underhanded trick was used to steal the million.
This is how the blatant million-dollar fraud on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? came about.
At first everything seems as usual: The inconspicuous ex-soldier Charles Ingram (then 38) sits down in the guessing chair on September 9, 2001 and starts the game. He looks nervous, but luckily his wife Diana is in the audience with him. She had already taken part in the show and made £32,000. Now Charles has to show what he’s made of. But things don’t go particularly well for him at first. At the end of the first day he has just made it to the £4,000 question – two of the three jokers have already been squandered. So no one expects him to get very far on day 2.
But then the huge surprise on the second day of shooting: Even though Charles Ingram still seems nervous and ignorant, he is suddenly able to answer all the questions correctly. What is particularly suspicious is that no matter how little he understands the complicated topics, he always chooses the correct answer in the end. He successfully fights his way to the 1,000,000 pound question. When he then answers the final question correctly, it is TV miracle perfect: Only two other candidates had won the million before.
ITV
Hard to believe: Charles Ingram won the million here.
With this trick, Charles Ingram cheated his way to the million
The production team became skeptical during filming. Those in charge took a particularly close look at the newly crowned millionaire after filming had finished – to no avail. No technical aids were found on his body or clothing. But they were now so sure that fraud had taken place that the prize money had even been frozen. When the raw footage of the show was viewed, the scales fell from the eyes of those in charge: Charles Ingram cheats in the studio together with two accomplices!
The trick is so simple that it’s almost ingenious: Charles Ingram read out loud all the possible answers and his allies coughed when the correct answer was given. This meant that the fraudster could answer all the questions, even if he had no idea about the subject matter. The choice of accomplices was also beyond brazen. At first only wife Diana was in the know, then the couple made an immoral offer to one of the waiting quiz show contestants in the studio: Tecwen Whittock, who was actually hoping for his own chance in the quiz chair, promptly helped with the big cough scam.
ITV
Wife Diana must have had a sore throat that evening.
Legal consequences for the million dollar fraudster
Charles Ingram went down in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire history as the most brazen contestant. Although he made it to the million dollar question, he was denied the prize money. The production company did not pay him the money and decided never to broadcast the show. The famous fraud attempt can now be seen on YouTube. Ingram was charged with fraud and given a suspended prison sentence. His military awards were revoked and he now lives a secluded life on a farm with his wife Diana.