26-05-2025
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire star suffers 'biggest loss in TV show's history'
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A Who Wants To Be A Millionaire contestant lost out on the coveted £1 million prize after a brutal twist of fate.
The Jeremy Clarkson-helmed ITV show welcomed Nicholas Bennett from West Hampstead on Sunday to try his hand at securing the massive cash prize on the long-running game show.
The former University Challenge star navigated through the first chunk of questions seamlessly, and before he knew it, he was facing the final question for the ultimate jackpot.
'Which of these words, each coined by a famous writer, was derived from the tale of a fairytale about three princes?' and the four options were: 'A) Pandemonium, B) Serendipity, C) Utopia and D) Yahoo.'
Thoroughly stumped, he chose to Ask Jeremy but – unfortunately for him – the Clarkson's Farm star could shed no light on the correct answer.
He then chose to Phone A Friend and, once more, hit a dead end when the friend didn't have a clue what the right choice was.
In the end, just as lost as before, Nicholas went for D) Yahoo, which turned out to be wrong. The right answer was B) Serendipity.
Nicholas, who could have secured the £500,00, tried to remain optimistic, saying: 'Still get £125,000.'
And Clarkson couldn't believe the devastating turn of events after such a promising start.
'Oh my giddy aunt,' he said, adding about the £375,000 downgrade: 'Is that the biggest loss in Millionaire history?'
Meanwhile, online, people were sharing their solidarity.
'That contestant was so good and I am actually proper gutted he didn't win the million,' @supernovadragon wrote on X.
'How can anyone be so nonchalant about losing £375k,' @celestialtalia shared.
'Unlucky mate, played it beautifully,' @doul1ehelix added.
'I actually shouted Oh No !!!! Loudly!!! Alone in the house,' @patfield said.
The ex-Grand Tour star started hosting the game show (which was originally hosted by Chris Tarrant since 1998) in 2018 after a four-year hiatus.
In March, he even hit back after being called 'not much help' when another contestant tried to seek guidance from him.
'Despite getting a speeding ticket in Dijon, @JeremyClarkson wasn't much help on this question, so over to #PhoneAFriend #WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire,' the official X account for the show posted.
To which Clarkson replied at the time: 'What do you mean I wasn't much help?!?!?!!!'
It's been a year of impressive wins on the show. In January, QI presenter Sir Stephen Fry bagged a whopping £250,000 on the celebrity edition of the show.
In fact, Clarkson actually did help him secure the jackpot as they both tried to figure out which major European city you would come closest to if you 'walked a straight path from Paris to Berlin' (the answer was Luxembourg City). More Trending
'Jeremy is very encouraging, and he was great with the question that took me to a quarter of a million,' Sir Stephen said in a statement via PA Wire.
He continued: 'It was a geographical question, and you had to work it out. Jeremy has travelled so much, particularly in the area that the question was about.
'He and I kind of agreed that it was one of two answers, and I thought, 'I am going to risk it,' and fortunately, it was right.'
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Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? returns to ITV1 later this year and is available to stream on ITVX.
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