This week's edition of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire proved a triumph for Market Harborough's Andrew Fanko, who bagged an impressive £500,000 while his wife Frankie cheered him on from the crowd. Yet when faced with the ultimate question that could have netted him a jaw-dropping million quid, Andrew informed host Jeremy Clarkson that his journey on the ITV quiz show had come to an end.
The Ask the Audience lifeline offered little assistance, with studio participants largely divided between two choices. Despite favouring one option, he declared: "There's absolutely no chance I'm risking that amount of money. I will very, very gratefully take my half a million pounds," he announced with evident relief. "And that is my final answer."
For anyone who didn't catch it, here's the poser Andrew declined to tackle that stood between him and millionaire status: Which of these is an EGOT winner, meaning they have won each of the four major entertainment awards – an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony? The options were Lin-Manuel Miranda, Cher, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Bette Midler.
The correct response is theatre legend Andrew Lloyd Webber, famed for his globally celebrated West End and Broadway productions including The Phantom of the Opera, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Cats. Prior to Andrew's departure, Jeremy revealed he might have offered assistance had the contestant not already deployed the Ask the Host lifeline on an earlier query. "The actual answer is a man I'm going on holiday with next month," the presenter revealed. "Andrew Lloyd Webber. We sit at his house every year and do the Oscars."
The legendary composer has secured a Primetime Emmy Award, three Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, and six Tony Awards. His Oscar triumph came in 1996 for Best Original Song with You Must Love Me from the Madonna-led musical film Evita. His Academy Award journey also includes two additional nominations – the first arriving in 1973 for Best Score (Jesus Christ Superstar), followed by another Best Original Song recognition for Learn to Be Lonely in the 2004 version of The Phantom of the Opera.
In an exclusive conversation with Reach, Andrew confirmed he harbours no second thoughts about choosing not to risk an answer in the closing round. "Not at all, no," he stated. "Our situation has been pretty tough for the last couple of years with work, so whatever I had I was going to hold unless I was really confident of it. And I just wasn't. So, I was fine." Who Wants To Be A Millionaire airs Sundays at 7pm on ITV and can be streamed on ITVX.
