Konfettien descended over the scene. The host could barely be in his own body of enthusiasm.
“You are the most amazing contestant we have ever had,” almost he cried, overwrought, and embraced the ‘Who wants to be a millionaire’-the participant. “You have just won one million pounds!” But the check was never sent.
next year it will be 20 years ago that that story went around the world and drew headlines. Cough-the scandal was called.
Now it becomes a tv series.
“the Story is almost like ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ or ‘Mission Impossible’, just with a middelklassepar from Wilshire,” as the show’s writer, James Graham, says to the BBC.
“But instead to rapelle down the skyscrapers, they used reference books. But the goal was the same. A robbery of a million pounds.”
Charles Ingram was the man, there is a September day in 2001, sat in the warm chair in the English version of ‘Who wants to be a millionaire’.
Already in the initial ‘cheap’ rounds, so he is quite honestly something lost out.
Not the least when he got the question: ‘Who had in 2000 a hit with the album ‘Born to Do It’?
Of the four possible answers he knew no one, he acknowledged, and shot on the Coldplay. ‘It is my answer,’ he said. Short break. So he changed his mind. ‘I answer D. Craig David’. And hooray, it was true.
Already know the question to 4,000 pounds, had Charles Ingram otherwise spent two of his three lifelines.
Yet the continued triumftoget the study. Questions for questions. Nerve-racking trommehvirvler, the desperate, almost resigned look, and then fanfaren. Even a correct answer.
In the control room was underholdningsprogrammets experienced produce, however, begun to wonder about several things, like the bed brand in on the many screens.
A camera focused on Charles Ingrams wife Diana, who sat among the audience. Another was zoomed in on the next participants, who sat in the hold. Something was strange.
According to the Independent caused quite a pattern in the coming participant Tecwen Whittocks suspicion. For every time Charles Ingram was on the wrong track, plastered Whittock nose. When the answer was correct, the hosted he.
Several times in the show he was completely quiet. Instead got Diana Ingram suddenly problems with both the nose, as the neck. And her husband answered correctly. Again.
at last he had thus won one million british pound.
But even though England’s response to His Pilgaard, Chris Tarrant, was right up in the red field of enthusiasm, were the purse strings then latched in by the production company, which insisted on to get to the bottom of the case.
Which they came at the trial that took place in 2003. The charge was that Charles Ingram, his wife Diana and Tecwen Whittock had rottet together with a view to cheat their way to the big win.
Although all three declared their innocence, they were found guilty.
The upcoming mini-series tells the story of how and not least why the three cheated themselves to the top.
But it is, according to series writer James Graham is only one half of the story in his tv series. For what now, if they actually were innocent?
“He was made in the press as an idiot, as one who could not possibly know the answers to the questions,” he says to the BBC and continues:
“But Charles Ingram actually had a degree in engineering, had applied for membership in Mensa, and had been shot,” stresses the author.
