Entertainment
You Can Watch All The Real-Life Footage That Inspired ITV's 'Quiz'
ITV's Quiz drew to a close last night (April 16), with Charles and Diana Ingram's court case ending in a guilty verdict. Although the outcome came as no surprise (the real-life Charles and Diana were convicted back in 2003), some viewers may still have held out hope. After all, Helen McCrory's performance as the couple's attorney, Sonia Woodley, was nothing short of *breath* *taking*. And now we are left with a Quiz-shaped hole in our lives, and nothing but time to fill it. So it's lucky, then, that the real-life footage from the Quiz characters' Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? appearances are available to watch online. Isn't the internet a wonderful thing?
For context, the real-life story of the Ingram's very public downfall goes like this: in 2001, Charles appeared as a contestant on Millionaire?. His wife Diana and brother-in-law Adrian Pollock had previously been on the show themselves, both winning £32,000. Despite fumbling the first few answers on night one, Charles came back the following episode and went on to win the £1 million. However, questions were raised almost immediately after Celador TV (the production company behind the show at the time) claimed they heard coughing from another contestant and from Diana in the audience at times that seemed to coincide with Charles changing his mind and giving the correct answer. As mentioned above, the couple, along with their alleged accomplice Tecwen Whittock, were found guilty of "procuring the execution of a valuable security by deception" on April 7, 2003. (They are now challenging that verdict, it was announce on April 15, 2020.)
Fans of Quiz presumably felt a tinge of sadness after the finale had aired; the show took to the nation by storm, racking up one of the highest viewership figures on ITV in recent years and gaining high praise from critics. So, if your thirst for the coughing scandal hasn't yet been quenched, below are all the snippets you can watch from the real-life events that inspired ITV's latest hit.
Charles Ingram's appearance
While there isn't anywhere online that you can watch the full Charles Ingram episode(s), there are plenty of snippets to help weave it together. Starting with his "fastest finger first" success, which the official Millionaire? YouTube channel recently uploaded.
The official channel also uploaded Charles' intro on the show, in which he speaks about his wife and his brother-in-law coming on and winning £64,000 between them.
Then we move onto the infamous £4,000 question. Relatively early on in the game and Charles already appeared to be struggling, having to phone a friend in order to find out the answer.
And who can forget Craig David Gate? The time that Charles said he didn't know 7 Days singer, which is quite frankly an insult to music lovers everyone. Somehow, however, the major managed to bluff his way through to £32,000.
Here is where the official Millionaire YouTube footage dries up but luckily a few other online videos are available to fill in some of the blanks, including Charles' £16,000 answer, his £125,000 answer, his £250,000 answer, and the all-important Googol debacle that got him to the million-pound mark.
And, if you want all of the highlights pulled together and topped off with some analytical commentary from Millionaire? legend Chris Tarrant, then you can watch this special compilation:
Diana Ingram's appearance
Charles' wife Diana appeared on Millionaire a few months before he did, taking the hot seat in April 2001. She used two of her life lines – ask the audience and phone a friend – and managed to climb to £32,000. However, she was unable to go further than this after a question about the poem The Hunting Of The Snark stumped her. Diana thought that Edward Lear had written it, when it was in fact Lewis Carroll.
Diana's appearance can be seen in full on YouTube. You'll just need to skip ahead to the 22-minute mark.
Adrian Pollock's appearance
Adrian Pollock had a similar experience to his sister. He appeared on the show in December 2000, and managed to hold his own until the £32,000 question. In a moment that was reenacted for ITV's Quiz, we see Pollock call his and Diana's father Arthur for help. Unfortunately, Arthur provides his son with the wrong answer, saying his is "50%" sure the North American holiday Labour Day takes place in May when it is fact September.
Footage of Pollock's appearance can be found in two parts on YouTube, split between all his questions up until £32,000 (if you skip ahead to the six-minute mark) and then the fateful moment where he gets the answer wrong.
Tecwen Whittock's appearance
Tecwen Whittock was the alleged accomplice of Charles and Diana in their bid to win £1 million. It was suggested that Whittock helped from the sidelines by coughing when he needed to provide Charles the correct answer. However, in his own game, Whittock didn't do nearly as well as Charles or any of his family. He managed to climb to the £4,000 question but guessed incorrectly after phoning a friend. In the end, he walked away with only £1,000.
Tecwen's appearance is also split over two YouTube clips, showing us the few minutes he spent in the hot seat (if you skip ahead to the eight-minute mark) before walking away disappointed.
Paddy Spooner's appearance
The character of Paddy Spooner, played by Jerry Killick in Quiz, was based on a real man of the same name who appeared on three different versions of Millionaire? in the UK, Australia, and Ireland. Spooner was the leader of an underground organisation named the Consortium (renamed The Syndicate on Quiz) that helped people find themselves in the Millionaire? hot seat.
Footage of Spooner's time on the various different Millionaire?'s is few and far between, although it is possible to watch some of his UK show on YouTube (at the 14-minute mark) and also his try at the Australian version.
