Episode #1.1 

When television producer Paul Smith puts everything on the line to make ITV quiz show and overnight sensation 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire?', one family's much loved pub-quiz hobby turns into outright obsession.

Director:

Stephen Frears

Writers:

James Graham, James Graham (inspired by play 'Quiz' by)

Stars:

Matthew Macfadyen, Sian Clifford, Mark Bonnar

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Matthew Macfadyen	...	Charles Ingram
Sian Clifford	...	Diana Ingram
Mark Bonnar	...	Paul Smith
Aisling Bea	...	Claudia Rosencrantz
Elliot Levey	...	David Briggs
Risteard Cooper	...	David Liddiment
Trystan Gravelle	...	Adrian Pollock
Michael Jibson	...	Tecwen Whittock
Helen McCrory	...	Sonia Woodley QC
Michael Sheen	...	Chris Tarrant
Jasmyn Banks	...	Nicola Howson
Paul Bazely	...	Lionel from Legal
Seraphina Beh	...	Ruth Settle
Matt Blair	...	Mike Whitehall
Mark Aaron Byrne	...	Stu Bloomberg (as Mark Byrne)

Storyline

When television producer Paul Smith puts everything on the line to make ITV quiz show and overnight sensation 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire?', one family's much loved pub-quiz hobby turns into outright obsession.

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Plot Keywords:

reference to pablo picasso | pablo picasso quotation | quoting pablo picasso | reference to martina navratilova | reference to steffi graf | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Game-Show | History

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mark Bonnar worked with the wife of Matthew Macfadyen, Keeley Hawes, in Line of Duty: The Ambush (2014).

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Quotes

[David Briggs and Paul Smith have just pitched the idea of Who Wants to be a Millionaire to David Liddiment of ITV]
David Briggs: Don't worry. In for a penny, in for a p... million pounds.

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Connections

Edited from Bullseye (1981)

User Reviews

Just wow!

This wasn't the start I was expecting, this first episode focuses on the origins of the show, the conception, and how it came from nothing to a show that gathered mega audiences.

This was a magical episode, absolutely mind blowing, I was gripped from start to finish. The story is wonderful, the acting is great, but best of all is the performance of Michael Sheen, who is off the scale as Chris Tarrant, his performance is incredible.

I didn't expect to enjoy it, it was awesome. 10/10.

Details

Release Date:

31 May 2020 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Left Bank Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

46 min