The TV quiz that changed the game
As ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire?’ returns, Michael Hogan looks at how it made trivia into a national event
Which British creation was solely responsible for reviving TV quizzes worldwide, changed the genre forever and makes its eagerly awaited comeback this weekend? Are you sure? Is that your final answer?
You’re correct, of course. It was Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, which blazed a big-money trail during the late Nineties and early Noughties, transcending its humble status as an ITV game show to become a planet-conquering cultural phenomenon.
Tomorrow, Jeremy Clarkson hops into former host Chris Tarrant’s chair for a miniseries marking the show’s 20th anniversary. If it works, the seven-night experiment could lead to a long-term rebirth.
So how did the quiz affectionately known as “Millionaire” become one of the most influential TV shows of modern times? Firstly, as the title would imply, it upped the prize money, turning a bog-standard trivia quiz into a high-octane game of jeopardy. Before Millionaire, a quiz show winner might come away with a car, a caravan or a few thousand pounds. Suddenly, they could become an overnight millionaire.
More significantly, it introduced many of the tension-building tricks we now see everywhere on our screens.
Millionaire’s origin story dates back to Capital FM in the early Nineties, when radio executive David Briggs met writing duo Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight. This trio devised 30-second stings and phone-ins for DJ Tarrant’s hit breakfast show, including the infamous “Bong game”. This risk-versus-reward feature saw listeners try to shout “stop!” before a bong noise interrupted a sequence of increasing cash sums. It would become one of the inspirations for Millionaire.
It was between such projects that they devised a format for TV: a sort of edge-of-your-seat, megabucks version of Mastermind. The working title was “Cash Mountain”.
Knight, now best known as the screenwriter of period thrillers Peaky Blinders and Taboo, helped bring a dramatic sensibility to their creation. It would be played for thrills, suspense and pure theatre.
Where it differed from most game shows was that only one person played the main game at a time. It was more like a radio quiz in that respect, hence hiring Tarrant as host. On Capital, he’d been brilliant at turning a chat into riveting must-listen radio, with his teasing prods and pregnant pauses.
Crucially, Millionaire put the emphasis on suspense rather than speed. Sure, there was a preliminary round called “Fastest Finger First” to decide who got to take “The Hot Seat” but thereafter it was mano a mano. Tarrant posed general knowledge questions of escalating difficulty. Pick the correct answer from a choice of four and contestants could incrementally raise their prize money from £100 right up to the magical million.
Sounds easy, right? Not quite. That’s where the production innovations came in. With its high stools, dramatic music, interrogation-style lighting and futuristic set, Millionaire did everything it could to make contestants squirm. They were also given three “lifelines” – 50/50, Phone A Friend and Ask The Audience. “In the pilot episodes, contestants kept wanting to take the money,” recalled co-creator Knight. “We had to find ways, like the lifelines, of keeping them in the seat.”
The music was key. Unlike ordinary game shows, which only use incidental music, Millionaire kept it playing for the whole programme. Composed by father-and-son duo Keith and Matthew Strachan – the former best known for co-writing Cliff Richard’s festive hit Mistletoe and Wine – the score took inspiration from the Mars movement of Holst’s The Planets. It throbbed away, mimicking a heartbeat or ticking clock.
The set design was more like a Hollywood thriller than a typical, garishly coloured game show. A mirrored floor and glass fittings gave the impression there was nowhere to hide. Nervous contestants felt exposed on a high chair in centre-stage. The lighting made them even more uncomfortable, and gradually darkened as the game progressed.
With these precision-tooled elements in place, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? debuted on our screens in 1998. It was scheduled as “event television”, broadcast on 10 successive evenings in a prime-time 8pm slot to hook viewers and build buzz.
This it duly did. At its peak, the show was watched by more than 19million (one in three Britons) and became the most talked-about show, even though it took two years for someone to win the jackpot. The honour went to cashstrapped garden designer Judith Keppel, the Duchess of Cornwall’s third cousin and now one of the champion quizzers on BBC Two’s Eggheads. Keppel remains the only woman to reach the top prize. Indeed, across 592 episodes and 1,200 contestants, only five punters scooped the titular sum.
So universal was its appeal that it has aired in 160 countries, with all versions adhering to strict rules: all hosts had to wear Armani suits like Tarrant, while music, lighting and set design had to replicate the British original.
Even now, it remains part of our cultural fabric. The West End play Quiz tells the scandalous story of “Coughing Major” Charles Ingram, who was stripped of the jackpot after being convicted of cheating.
Millionaire didn’t just revive viewer interest in small-screen quizzing. It revolutionised the look and feel of game shows, with the likes of The Weakest Link, Deal or No Deal and The Cube stealing its tricks, while The Million Pound Drop copied its prize.
The British original lost some of its sheen in the mid-noughties, limping on with occasional charity specials until 2013. Tarrant bowing out proved the final nail in the coffin.
Now it’s back after a five-year absence and, with controversy magnet Clarkson at the helm, promises to be as compelling as ever. The only other game shows right now are either jolly backslapping sessions (Pointless, Eggheads, The Chase) or niche brainiac affairs (University Challenge, Only Connect). A full-time return for Millionaire would bring some edge-of-sofa suspense and big-money jeopardy back to the prime-time schedules.
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? begins tomorrow at 9.15pm on ITV, continuing nightly throughout the week at 9pm.
Quiz, James Graham’s hit play which was inspired by the Charles Ingram story, is currently running at the Noel Coward Theatre. On May 15, The Telegraph is hosting an exclusive post-show Q&A in which Telegraph arts writer and editor Ben Lawrence talks to playwright James Graham, director Daniel Evans and members of the cast. Tickets cost £47.50 or £67.50, including a free drink. Call 0844 871 1514/ telegraph.co.uk/go/quiz