Coughing Major and his new life ... selling jewellery on market
THE former army major who cheated to win Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? is now selling cheap homemade jewellery at local markets.
Charles Ingram, 53, conned his way to the jackpot in 2001 with the help of wife Diana and an accomplice who coughed when the right answer was read out.
Fifteen years on, the couple are now selling Italian glass handicrafts at markets in Somerset.
Ingram, a father- of-three who served in Bosnia, pays £40 for a pitch at the monthly market in Frome which attracts up to 10,000 visitors. The couple try to persuade shoppers to pay £5 for Mrs Ingram’s home-made brooches or necklaces costing up to £40.
Plumber Chris Oyston recognised the convicted fraudster on Sunday and said: ‘I did a double-take.
‘He was in good spirits, laughing and joking with customers – definitely the salesman. His wife didn’t say a lot, he was doing all the patter. He was saying it was all homemade, explaining how long it took to make and what it was made of.’
Ingram was stripped of his £1million winnings when his TV fraud was rumbled and later convicted of deception. He and wife Diana were given 18-month suspended prison sentences and officially declared bankrupt. It emerged in March that Ingram had paid just £1,240 of the £25,000 fine he was given in 2003 following his court case which cost taxpayers £8million.
Since then the couple have cashed in on their notoriety with appearances on Celebrity Wife Swap and The Weakest Link. They live in a £350,000 cottage in Westbury, Wiltshire, while daughters Portia, Rosalind and Hester attend £30,000-a-year Westonbirt School in Gloucestershire.
Ingram refused to comment about his latest venture yesterday.