Millionaire Dreams Who wants to be a millionaire?
The concept is simple. Win a million dollars just by answering a few questions in a row.
Charles Ingram knew that he could do it. He’d just need some extra help. He almost made off
with the million-pound prize on the British Millionaire show before their scam was exposed.
With cameras aimed at them from every direction, he didn’t quite pull off his brazen scheme.
Ingram Background Ingram wasn't always
a cheat. He was born into a well-respected military family. His father, John Ingram,
was a veteran of the UK's Royal Air Force. While serving during the Second World War,
Axis powers shot down John's plane. He eventually made it back home, and his tale of
bravery inspired his young son. After earning his bachelor's degree in civil engineering,
Charles followed in his decorated dad's footsteps and joined the British Army in 1986.
He became an officer with the Royal Engineers, and by 1996,
he had risen up to the rank of Major. A few years later, he conducted a peacekeeping
project in Bosnia before earning a master's degree in corporate management in 2000.
Here's where Charles Ingram's story gets a little more interesting.
Around this time, Charles tried to get on the British version of "Who Wants to Be
a Millionaire?". His family already had a history of winning money on the show.
His wife, Diana, won 32,000 pounds during her appearance on the program,
and her brother won the same prize on a separate episode. It seemed the bloodline had some good
luck on its side, and Charles tried his hand at the million-dollar game show in September of 2001.
British Millionaire Show In case you're unfamiliar
with the Millionaire format, here's a very quick primer on how the show works. Contestants answer
a series of multiple-choice trivia questions. As the questions get harder, the cash prizes
get bigger. There are three lifelines contestants can use if they're stuck on a particular question,
but that's the only help they get. If they can answer each question correctly,
they earn the grand prize of one million dollars or one million pounds in the UK.
The British "Millionaire" first aired in 1998, hosted by Chris Tarrant,
who remained the host until 2014. Prior to scoring the gig of a lifetime as host
of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," Tarrant was on the popular British
kids' program "Tiswas" and made a name for himself as a radio host at Capitol London.
Tarrant rose to international stardom as the host of "Millionaire," and the
friendly game show host ultimately played a vital role in Charles Ingram's story.
Tecwen Whittock To paint the full picture of Ingram’s
game show scam, we have to talk about another important character. His name is Tecwen Whittock,
a college lecturer and self-described "serial game-show loser." Whittock tried and repeatedly
failed to win big on various TV game shows and had even launched an unsuccessful attempt to get
himself on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" the same day that Ingram made his now-famous
appearance. Whittock played a pivotal part in Ingram's story, and all he had to do was cough.
Hot Seat The elaborate
scheme that defrauded a million pounds from one of the most popular game shows of all time
revolved around the simple act of coughing? It sounds laughably simple, but it's true.
British "Millionaire" also calls the chair in which the contestants sit,
the "hot seat." To get in the hot seat, one must win a preliminary contest called "Fastest Finger
First." Fastest Finger involves the potential contestants duking it out against one another in
a battle to see who can answer a multiple-choice question correctly in the quickest time.
Many people take part in Fastest Finger. There are a total of 8 contestants competing
to sit in the coveted hot seat and try their hand at "Who Wants to Be a
Millionaire?". Charles made it to Fastest Finger First twice before, and his buddy
Tecwen Whittock was standing alongside him this time, trying his best to get in the hot seat.
But, it was Charles who became the lucky winner and sat down across from Tarrant.
His first question: "On which of these would you air laundry?" His options were a clothes dog,
clothes rabbit, clothes pig, and clothes horse. The answer was a clothes horse, which Charles
picked without a moment's hesitation. He breezed through the first set of easy questions before
hitting a bit of a snag. His momentum slowed down considerably as the questions got harder.
He used 2 of his 3 lifelines before reaching the 4,000-pound question.
Fans of the show know the key is to save your lifelines for as long as possible and
use them once the questions get really hard. Charles wasn't so strategic. With
just one lifeline remaining and a total of 8 questions to go before he reached the million,
most people assumed he was a dead man. They had to cut his round short as the episode ended,
so he was invited back to finish his game the next day.
Craig David The following day, Charles emerged from
the tunnel and plopped down in the hot seat at the center of the "Millionaire" set. Nobody, including
Tarrant, believed he'd leave a legitimate winner. But how about an illegitimate one?
He had returned with a plan to steal the million pounds, and two associates on his side,
planted strategically within the oblivious audience, helped him do it.
Charles had recruited the help of his wife, Diana, who in turn reached out to Whittock,
an old acquaintance of hers from the game show circuit. Whittock was in the building to play
Fastest Finger when the Ingrams flagged him down and brought him in on their plan.
The specific plan, as we learned earlier, was very, very simple. If Charles didn't know
the answer, he would mull over each option out loud. When he said the correct answer,
either Diana or Tecwen would cough. Hard to believe that was the extent of their scam,
but with his two guardian angels in the audience, Charles continued to move up the money board.
Looking back at the execution of their plan, it becomes painfully obvious what they were doing.
It doesn't help that Charles wasn't cautious in how he talked himself through each question.
For example, the 32,000-pound question: "Who had a hit UK album with Born to Do It,
released in 2000?" A, Coldplay. B, Toploader. C, A-1. Or D, Craig David.
Ingram said out loud that he was pretty sure the correct answer was "C,"
the British band "A1". But when he didn't hear a cough, he knew he was wrong. He admitted he
had no idea who "D," Craig David, was, even though Craig David was the correct answer.
When the coughs confirmed Craig David was the right answer, Charles awkwardly
backpedaled from what he had just said and picked "D," Craig David, out of nowhere.
Millionaire For a Day Nevertheless, the ruse was successful,
and Charles stumbled his way up the board and won himself the grand prize of a million pounds.
While most people would be joyfully celebrating with their friends and family after becoming
an instant millionaire, multiple people on the show's staff, including Tarrant himself,
reported hearing Charles and Diana yelling at each other in the dressing room after the show. The
reason behind their fighting was unclear at that point, but it was suspicious behavior nonetheless.
Suspicions continued to arise about the nature of Charles' lucky win.
The show's production company received complaints from several people who believed
there was something fishy about the whole thing. By the time Charles returned home,
the show had decided to withhold their winnings until they could investigate the episode.
Once the production team reviewed the recording, it wasn't long before they uncovered the
Ingrams' method of cheating. They associated Charles' answers with coughs in the audience,
some of them from Tecwen Whittock, the others from Diana Ingram. How? Because Diana had a
camera on her the entire time, and Whittock is in clear view of the production team.
Forfeited Charles' million-pound
check was ripped to pieces. Millionaire brought the three to court and accused
them of cheating. The trial lasted 4 weeks, and at the end of it all, the three amigos
were found guilty of procuring the execution of a valuable security by deception… or cheating.
The verdict resulted in suspended prison sentences for each of them. A suspended
prison sentence means a person has to serve a probation period before
actually going to jail. If they stay out of trouble, they don't have to do any
real prison time. However, if they get in trouble again, their sentence carries out.
The Ingrams faced 18 months in prison, while Whittock got 12 months of his own. However,
nobody ever saw real jail time, as they stayed out of trouble and off the game show circuit during
their probation. They did have to pay some pretty hefty fines, though, 115,000 pounds to be exact.
Charles resigned from the Royal Engineers in 2003, and was stripped of his rank of
Major. A lifetime of hard work and dedication vanished in the blink of
an eye. He was no longer Major Charles Ingram, son of a World War II hero.
Now, he was just Charles Ingram, a convicted criminal, and infamous cheat.
Motives Since the scam went down, there have been
many popular theories regarding the details behind the fraud. Perhaps the most widely circulated
theory is that the Ingrams were in heavy debt and wanted to use their "Millionaire" winnings
to pay it all off. This theory was supported by financial records that came up during their trial.
As it turns out, Charles and his wife owed roughly 50,000 pounds to various debtors at
the time of his appearance on the show, and Whittock was 40,000 pounds in debt as well.
Cheating their way to a million-pound prize seemed like an easy way to get the money they
needed to alleviate some of the financial pressure they were facing. It all makes a lot of sense,
which is why this particular theory has grown quite popular over the years.
Theorists went further with the idea in a television special made about the scheme
in 2003. This widely viewed documentary speculated that Charles was only supposed
to continue playing the game until he reached the 64,000-pound question, as that would have
been enough to pay off their debts. This, they said, would account for the loud fighting that
the production team heard in the Ingrams' dressing room after the show. Maybe Diana
was yelling at Charles for getting greedy and continuing the deception longer than they agreed.
Whether that's true or not, the TV doc attracted a record-setting audience.
17 million people tuned in to watch the detailed profile of the infamous game show cheater,
more viewers than an interview with Michael Jackson had on the same network.
People have a fascination with Ingram's story. There's even a contingency of people
who believe the Ingrams might be innocent. The loudest of these theorists is a writer for The
Guardian named Jon Ronson, who speculated in an opinion piece that Whittock's persistent coughing
throughout the episode could be attributed to a chronic cough he's lived with his entire life.
He argued that confirmation bias played a heavy role in the jury's decision and that the media
narrative had already painted the Ingrams as guilty before the trial even started.
Maybe Ronson typed up his article with a tinfoil hat on, or perhaps he's one of the only defenders
of an innocent man. Whatever the truth ultimately is, it's obvious Charles would rather move on,
as he declined to comment on Ronson's piece or pursue the innocence narrative any further.
Insurance Fraud However, before he could finally move on with his
life, Charles found himself in even more hot water in 2003. He was caught in an insurance fraud scam
after he switched providers without divulging his past claims history. Charles was what insurance
companies call a "Habitual claimer" or someone that makes claims on anything they can. Had he
disclosed his claim history, he probably wouldn't have gotten coverage—or at least good coverage.
He tried to file a claim for an alleged burglary at his home.
He wanted a whopping 30,000 pounds from his new insurance carrier, but after the whole
"Millionaire" fiasco blew up in the news, the company looked more closely into Ingram's
claim. It turns out it was a phony claim that he had already filed with his previous provider.
Charles had a bit of good luck on his side at this trial, as
the judge gave him a conditional discharge, meaning no punishment was handed down.
Celebrity Status Charles and his wife have achieved minor-celebrity
status through it all, and some people might call their whole experience a blessing in disguise.
Since stepping down from the military, Charles has written a pair of novels that would have otherwise
faded into obscurity without the name recognition he got from his "Millionaire" incident.
He and his wife have appeared on several reality TV programs and other game shows
like "Wife Swap" and "The Weakest Link." They get their fair share of jokes from hosts who
can't help but make fun of their cheating scandal. For instance, on "The Weakest Link,"
the host called Charles the "dashing young major with a throat infection," poking fun at the many
coughs that guided him to the million. The correct answer to one of his questions was "coughing."
The couple even dined with Gordon Ramsay on "Hell's Kitchen."
The celebrity chef playfully made them a dish with a side of cough medicine.
They also participated on "Fear Factor," and Charles appeared in a Celebrity Poker Challenge.
The once-disgraced cheater has pretty much stayed out of trouble in recent years,
although Charles did make brief headlines again back in 2010
when a lawnmower accident resulted in him losing three of his toes.
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