Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (1998– )

The original British version of the quiz show that's become a worldwide hit. Host Chris Tarrant asks hopeful contestants a series of questions, each more difficult than the last. As the ... See full summary »

Creator:

Steven Knight

Stars:

Chris Tarrant, Stephen Fry, Russell Grant

16 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Chris Tarrant	...	Himself - Host (49 episodes, 1998-2013)

Storyline

The original British version of the quiz show that's become a worldwide hit. Host Chris Tarrant asks hopeful contestants a series of questions, each more difficult than the last. As the questions get harder, the prize money increases, until at last the lucky (or smart) contestant reaches the million-pound prize.

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Plot Keywords:

quiz show | quiz | money | tension | cash prize | 

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Genres:

Game-Show

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Details

Official Sites:

Celador Productions Ltd

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 September 1998 (UK)

Also Known As:

Cash Mountain

Filming Locations:

Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

2Waytraffic International, Celador Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 60 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Was the object of a fraud attempt by Charles Ingram, his wife Diana Ingram, and former college lecturer Tecwen Whittock. After the trial the episode was shown as Who Wants to Steal a Million?, and a documentary Millionaire: A Major Fraud was made.

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Connections

Referenced in I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue (2008)

User Reviews

Used To Be Essential Viewing

When WWTBAM was first broadcast in Britian it was the main talking point in the country . What a brilliant but simple idea for a TV quiz , answer 15 consecutive multiple choice questions with the difficulty in questions going up alongside the money . The nation started copying Chris Tarrant`s catchphrases: " Phone a friend , 50-50 " etc and what a quiz master Tarrant was as he continually put the contestants off :

Nervous contestant : I think it`s B Chris . I`ll play . B

Tarrant : You sure ? You`ll lose 15, 000 pound if you`re wrong . You`ve still got two lifelines left . 15,000 pound . You`ll loose that . Two lifelines you can use them if you want

Then the nervous contestant would waste his last two life lines

Tarrant : Final answer ? The correct answer is B . So you were right all along

Cut to nervous contestant who`s just realised Tarrant has cost him his last two lifelines .

Yeah this was a great show as was its format of being on 8 consecutive nights then off air for about 6 weeks then on for another 8 consecutive nights but then ITV decided to put on 3 times a week from late Summer to late Spring WWTBAM never seemed to off the screens which meant a lot of people including myself became very fed up with it . The producers vainly tried to spice it up with charity editions and couples editions before switching to showing only one episode a week , but too late they`d milked the idea for what it was worth and that`s what killed the show along with Tarrant spending too much time talking to the contestants and it`s only a matter of time before it`s cancelled for good

R.I.P WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE