Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? will crown its first winner in 14 years TONIGHT after they correctly answered the 15 questions in ‘record time’
- First Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? winner in 14 years will be crowned tonight
- The contestant is understood to be a man who answered in ‘record time’
- Show bosses have remained tight-lipped on any details of the player’s identity
- Only the sixth winner since 1998 and the first person to win since 2006
- Do YOU know the mystery winner? Email: [email protected]
The first Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? winner in 14 years will be crowned tonight.
The winner, whose identity has not been revealed, is understood to be a man who answered the 15 questions to reach the jackpot in ‘record time’.
Jeremy Clarkson has already described the winner as the ‘best contestant ever’ and said he or she ‘whizzed through’ the challenging questions – but remained tight-lipped on any more details.
The winner will be just the sixth millionaire to triumph on the ITV show since its launch in 1998. The last person to win the show was retired civil servant Ingram Wilcox, who was crowned in 2006.
Thrilling TV: The best contestant to ever appear on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? wins the top prize next month, according to host Jeremy Clarkson (pictured last year)
The programmes were filmed in recent months without a studio audience because of guidelines on social distancing.
Speaking last month, Jeremy, 60, said: ‘I’m absolutely thrilled and delighted that we’ve found someone who seems to know just about everything.
‘I can’t wait for the viewers to see it and I want to watch it back, too. I was just in awe of this contestant and think they are probably the best the show has ever had in its 22-year history. It was a joy to sit and watch it unfold.’
Clarkson said the contestant ‘whizzed through the 15 questions’, adding: ‘All of a sudden, confetti was falling from the ceiling and I was saying ‘You’ve just won £1 million’.
Genius: The new series has already been filmed, with one person walking away with £1 million – the sixth millionaire the ITV show has produced since 1998
‘I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to utter those immortal six words and I’m not embarrassed to say, it was a little emotional but, boy, did it feel good.’
In May, retired doctor Andrew Townsley, from Glasgow, nearly became the sixth £1million winner but walked away with £500,000.
When faced with a final question on motorsport, he decided to play it safe and stick with half a million pounds.
So close: In May, retired doctor Andrew Townsley, from Glasgow, nearly became the sixth £1million winner but walked away with £500,000
Ingram Wilcox was the most recent winner of the top prize, going all the way in 2006.
In all, five contestants have previously won the £1 million prize on the UK version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?.
The first was Judith Keppel in November 2000.
Millionaire: Ingram Wilcox was the most recent winner of the top prize, going all the way in 2006
For her final question, then-host Chris Tarrant asked: ‘Which king was married to Eleanor of Aquitaine?’ Miss Keppel correctly answered Henry II.
Other winners include Pat Gibson in 2004, Robert Brydges in 2001, and David Edwards, also in 2001.
Perhaps the most famous contestant in Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? history, Major Charles Ingram, was back in the news recently thanks to ITV drama Quiz.
Ingram ‘won’ the grand prize but it was never paid out after he was accused of cheating in an infamous coughing scam.
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? returns to ITV in September.
Money, money, money: Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? returns to ITV in September