Who Wants To Be A Millionaire fans have shared their reactions after history teacher Donald Fear won the top prize during Friday night’s episode of the show.
Host Jeremy Clarkson, 60, was also unable to hide his delight for the ‘genius’ contestant as he fought back tears after announcing he had won £1milllion.
Shortly after it was revealed that Donald, 57, was the first person in 14 years to enter the the 1million club, viewers took to Twitter to express their joy for him.
Amazing! Who Wants To Be A Millionaire fans have shared their reactions after history teacher Donald Fear won the top prize during Friday night’s episode of the show
One impressed fan wrote: ‘Omg what a performance from Donald Fear. Is there anything that man doesn’t know? Just riveting #WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire
Another wrote: ‘Wow! He was brilliant, well deserved win!’
A third said: ‘@Jeremy Clarkson nearly brought to tears. What a performance from Donald and what a nice bloke. Deserved winner.’
Another said: ‘What an incredible man on #WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire tears streaming down my face. Best TV this year. Wow wow wow.’
Congrats! Shortly after it was revealed that Donald, 57, was the first person in 14 years to enter the the 1million club, viewers took to Twitter to express their joy for him
Well done: One impressed fan wrote: ‘Omg what a performance from Donald Fear. Is there anything that man doesn’t know? Just riveting #WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire
Another wrote: ‘Wow! He was brilliant, well deserved win!’
A couple of other viewers also referenced the fact that Jeremy was overwhelmed after Donald became the first winner on the show during his tenure.
One social media said he was the ‘best ever contestant’, and gushed: ‘The boy who just won million on #WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire is hands down the best contestant who has ever been on the show.
‘Jeremy Clarkson in tears and all sorts.’
Another fan commented on Jeremy’s reaction and said: ‘Jeremy’s reaction!!! Omg he is purely elated for the bloke. Love it! Tears!!’
A different person said: ‘I’m in awe of his man.’
While another said: ‘In awe of this guy who is going to win a million! Knew all the answers up to the whale mind you. Off to apply for WWTBAM.’
Other dazzled viewers said: ‘This guy’s like the Oracle! He’s sailing through it.’
And
His brother fell at the final hurdle in the same contest – although the £500,000 he won on the way clearly took the edge off.
But last night Donald went the full distance and became the first jackpot winner on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? in 14 years.
A history teacher at Jeremy Corbyn‘s former school, he whizzed through the questions in what is believed to be record time for the show.
He said he was able to answer the £1million question – ‘In 1718, which pirate died in battle off the coast of what is now North Carolina?’ – before he’d seen it properly.
It was at this point in the show – the final question – on September 1 last year that his retired geography teacher brother Davyth, 60, stumbled and chose to walk off with his half million.
Donald Fear, 57, from Shropshire, scooped the £1 million prize during a sensational run on last night’s show, on which he only used one of his lifelines and knew the winning answer within a ‘microsecond’
He said he is ‘happy’ in the house he shares with Deb, his wife of 33 years. The couple are parents to Kat, 31, Ali, 30, Izzy, 26, and 22-year-old Chris
Donald’s brother Davyth (pictured above) walked away from an ‘easy’ £1million question on a previous Millionaire appearance
Donald Fear spotted in public for the first time as he returns home from work, where he works as a geography teacher. Donald’s brother won 500k last year on Who wants to be a millionaire and 12 months later Donald is the first person in 14 years to win the million. Hours before the show is due to air! His mother and father posed with him and his youngest daughter as they settled down to watch the episode on Friday night
But as a history buff, Donald, from Shropshire, knew the answer to his question instantly.
‘The first thing I spotted was that there was a date in there… then a microsecond later I saw that it was 1718,’ he said. ‘Then synapses went, ‘That’s got to be Blackbeard’. That was the only thing it could be. I’m a dates man.’
The day after his win in the recorded show, Mr Fear handed in his notice as head of history at Haberdashers’ Adams grammar school in Shropshire, which the former Labour leader attended.
He will see out the school term, then begin his retirement two years earlier than planned.
Mr Fear, who is currently Head of History at Haberdashers Adams Grammar school in Shropshire, handed in his notice a day after his win but will see out the school term
He described himself as ‘lucky’ and said he wouldn’t have known a question about This Morning which came up in the previous episode
Mr Fear, who has been a teacher for more than three decades, said he had been inundated with support from his students who heard he was on the show, but hasn’t let on about his big win
He intends to give 70 per cent of his winnings away to family members and to charity and leave himself with just enough for a ‘comfortable retirement’.
The father-of-four and grandfather hesitated on only two questions, using his 50/50 lifeline for one of them.
‘I was so fortunate,’ he said. ‘Of the 15 questions, I probably knew 13 immediately before the options appeared.’ He added: ‘A quiz is very easy if you know the answers and I did know the answers.’
He said he is ‘happy’ in the house he shares with Deb, his wife of 33 years. The couple are parents to Kat, 31, Ali, 30, Izzy, 26, and 22-year-old Chris.
The last £1million winner on the show was retired civil servant Ingram Wilcox in 2006.
Mr Fear, who has been a teacher for more than three decades, said he had been inundated with support from his students who heard he was on the show, but hasn’t let on about his big win
Mr Fear said that he plans to give 70 percent of his winnings away to family members and to charity and leave himself with just enough for a ‘comfortable retirement’
When Mr Fear was speaking with host Jeremy Clarkson after reaching the £1,000 milestone, he spoke of his brother Davyth’s time on the programme.
‘When I applied to the show I didn’t know how much he won,’ Mr Fear said.
‘I said my aim is to get one step further than my brother has. When I found out where he got to I thought ah, maybe not.’
Speaking of when they would play from home, he added: ‘He has three years on me, I would say Dave would win 90 per cent of the time.’
During Mr Fear’s 20 minutes on the programme – thought to be a possible new record – Mr Clarkson said it was like ‘sitting next to the internet in a pink shirt’.
The contestant, who still had three lifelines left, said upon winning: ‘That was absolutely incredible, how easy was that!’
Just before answering his final question, Mr Fear said: ‘I taught piracy one year at a special unit.
‘I do remember Blackbeard died in 1718 off the coast of North Carolina. Blackbeard, final answer.’
Mr Clarkson then announced: ‘Donald fear, you’ve just won a million pounds!’
The contestant, who still had three lifelines left, responded: ‘That was absolutely incredible, how easy was that!’
When asked how he knew the answer, Mr Fear said: ‘Well I taught it!’
Mr Clarkson said: ‘You’ve beaten your brother – how does that feel?’
Mr Fear said: ‘He’ll be very pleased for me, that’s the sort of person he is.’
So can you answer the 15 questions that earned him a fortune?
1 (£100) Q:In the UK, the abbreviation NHS stands for National ‘what’ Service?
Humanity / Health / Honour / Household
2 (£200) Q: Which Disney character famously leaves a glass slipper behind at a royal ball?
Pocahontas / Sleeping Beauty / Cinderella / Elsa
3 (£300) Q:What name is given to the revolving belt machinery in an airport that delivers checked luggage from the plane to baggage reclaim?
Hangar / Terminal / Concourse / Carousel
4 (£500) Q: Which of these brands was chiefly associated with the manufacture of household locks?
Phillips / Flymo / Chubb / Ronseal
5 (£1K) Q: The hammer and sickle is one of the most recognisable symbols of which political ideology?
Republicanism / Communism / Conservatism / Liberalism
6 (£2K) Q: Which toys have been marketed with the phrase ‘Robots in Disguise’?
Bratz Dolls / Sylvanian Families / Hatchimals / Transformers
Donald Fear is pictured with host Jeremy Clarkson on Who Wants to be a Millionaire