Scot scoops £250k on TV ‘Millionaire’ quiz...thanks to kids’ book

ITS contestants usually rely upon a mixture of general knowledge and luck.

But a retired English teacher from Glasgow managed to win £250,000 on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? this week – thanks to a children’s book on planets.

Callum Hinds, from Govan, landed the huge prize on the popular ITV quiz show.

The calm and collected contestant impressed the show’s host, Jeremy Clarkson, as he cruised through the first handful of questions.

After reaching £125,000, the next question was: Which planet takes longer to spin on its axis than it does to orbit the sun?

In a stroke of luck, Mr Hinds revealed he had been reading a children’s book on planets and gave Venus as the correct answer to reach £250,000.

But Mr Hinds, above, who worked as a teacher for 37 years, opted out of the £500,000 question which asked who the first non-American was to win TIME Magazine’s Man of the Year.

As he faced the big-money question, the Scot, a keen cyclist and train enthusiast, luckily still had two final lifelines left.

But he opted to settle for the quarter-million total after asking for help from a friend and host Mr Clarkson.

If Mr Hinds had given the correct answer – Mahatma Gandhi – he would have been only two questions away from reaching the £1million jackpot.

Presenter Mr Clarkson said: ‘That was a fantastic performance, and you’re fully deserving of it.

‘And I hope you enjoy it. I hope you have a great time with that. I hope you travel far and wide.

‘I’ve absolutely loved having you here.’