Conviction of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? cheats labelled ludicrous
The case against Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? cheats Charles and Diana Ingram is “ludicrous” and “preposterous” – and new analysis of the coughing at the heart of the scandal will cast doubt on their convictions, their lawyer has said.
The couple, along with Welsh college lecturer Tecwen Whittock, were found guilty of using an elaborate coughing scheme to cheat their way to the £1 million top prize during a high-profile trial in 2003.
The incident and ensuing court case, in which they denied a single charge of procuring the execution of a valuable security by deception, is the subject of the ITV threepart drama Quiz. The drama has been scripted by Brexit: An Uncivil War writer James Graham, and stars Matthew Macfadyen and Sian Clifford as the couple and Michael Sheen as show host Chris Tarrant.
Rhona Friedman, their criminal defence solicitor, said she was working on the submission of legal arguments to the Court of Appeal following new analysis of the coughs that apparently tipped off Ingram to the right answer.
She said: “Back at the time of the trial in 2003, cough analysis wasn’t a thing and, in fact, there was a prosecution expert who came along and said that cough analysis is uncharted territory. Advances have taken place since then which does allow analysis which lends itself to some degree of authorship. I don’t want to over-state it, but there is an ability now to discern between different people making coughs in a way that wasn’t possible in 2003.”
She added: “There are other troubling aspects about the integrity of the trial exhibits that, together with the new cough analysis, work to, I think, undermine the safety of the conviction.”
As shown in the second episode of the TV show, the Ingrams’ joy at winning Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? was short-lived and suspicions were raised almost immediately. They were both found guilty of conspiring to cheat the show and handed suspended jail terms. Asked if she is convinced of the couple’s innocence, Ms Friedman said: “Yeah I am convinced.”