Who Wants To Be A Millionaire contestant loses biggest amount in show's history after blunder
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In a dramatic turn on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, contestant Nicholas Bennett lost the largest sum ever on the show due to a costly blunder.
The quiz show, now in its 30th series, witnessed Nicholas reach the £500k question without using any lifelines, much to the amazement of host Jeremy Clarkson. But disaster struck and Nicholas walked away with a staggering £375k less than he could have won.
After successfully answering the £125,000 question, Clarkson remarked: "He's just roaring along."
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The £250,000 question then challenged Nicholas with: "Which of these groups never successfully invaded the city of Rome?" The choices were: "a) Visigoths, b) Huns, c) Vandals, d) Gauls".
Nicholas, exuding confidence, declared: "I do like history, I know the Gauls invaded pretty early on. I'm pretty sure the Vandals destroyed the city - that's why we have vandalism. I don't think the Huns did, I don't think they made it that far into Europe, whereas I knew the Visigoths were around. As it's a free shot, I'm 70-80% sure..", reports the Mirror.
Despite Clarkson reminding him of his unused lifelines and advising against guessing, Nicholas confidently replied: "I don't think this is a guess though. Maybe on the next question I'll need them, so I'm gonna say Huns - final answer."
His gamble paid off, and the correct answer propelled him to the £500k question.
Clarkson noted Nicholas's apparent calmness, prompting him to admit: "It's not relaxed inside my head."
The £500k question posed was: "Which of these long-running US sitcoms had the most episodes? a) The Big Bang Theory b) Friends c) The Office or d) Seinfeld".
Unsure of the answer, he turned to the audience who believed it was Friends - but only 37% agreed, while 30% thought it was Seinfeld. Still uncertain and not wanting to risk it, he opted for the 50/50 lifeline, which left The Big Bang Theory and The Office (proving the audience wrong).
Nicolas admitted that he struggled to articulate his thoughts before finally settling on The Big Bang Theory as his final answer. His gamble paid off and he moved on to the ultimate question, the £1million query.
Clarkson then asked: "Which of these words, each coined by a famous writer, was derived from the title of a fairytale about three princes? a)Pandemonium b) Serendipity c) Utopia d) Yahoo."
Nicholas responded: "The one that's standing out to me is yahoo, but I don't know."
He sought advice from host Jeremy, who confessed he couldn't recall a fairytale involving three princes and noted that all four words were indeed coined by authors. Nicholas then recalled a puppet show he attended recently in Spain, which he believes was about three princes.
He confessed his Spanish wasn't fluent enough to understand the storyline. "But I think someone was yelling yahoo", he added.
He rationalised that he'd still have £125k even if his answer was incorrect, to which Clarkson highlighted the potential £375k loss and reminded him of an available lifeline. Nicholas opted to use the lifeline, but his friend Meg was clueless about the question.
"Normally, I'm really averse to any kind of gambling, but I do think I'm going to go for it," he declared, confidently stating "Yahoo, final answer."
The correct answer turned out to be serendipity, a term created by Horace Walpole inspired by The Three Princes of Serendip. With a nonchalant attitude, Nicholas remarked: "I've still got £125k" while Jeremy confessed he'd be "sobbing on the floor" after such a hefty loss.
Clarkson, clearly astonished, exclaimed post-event, "Oh my giddy aunt," questioning whether this was the most significant loss in 'Millionaire' history. He praised Nicholas, saying, "I don't think I've had a contestant I've enjoyed more than you. Well done, enjoy your winnings."
Upon returning from the commercial break, Clarkson greeted the audience with, "We've just seen someone lose what we think is the biggest amount in Who Wants to be a Millionaire history".
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