A father whose daughter missed out on £186,000 on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire after he failed to provide the correct answer during a Phone A Friend lifeline has revealed he attempted to advise her to secure her winnings but was disconnected before he could finish.
Dad's Regret Over Cut-Off Call
Chris Essery, 66, expressed immense pride in his daughter Jen Essery Lillikakis for still walking away with £64,000, insisting there are no lingering hard feelings after he drew a blank when she called for assistance on a question worth £500,000. The retired MRI radiographer from Wanstead, East London, praised Jen's impressive run on the show, which saw her climb through the rounds but ultimately stumble on the 14th question posed by host Jeremy Clarkson.
The Pivotal Question
Clarkson asked Jen: 'According to Guinness World Records, which of these has travelled at over 260 miles per hour during a competitive game or match? Tennis ball, ice hockey puck, badminton shuttlecock or table tennis ball?' In the episode aired last week, Jen used her sole remaining lifeline, Phone A Friend, to call Chris, but he was uncertain of the answer.
Chris recounted: 'I think she did really well and came away with a good amount of money. At the time, when the money had been taken away, I think I actually said - after they'd stopped recording me - "take the money", but that didn't turn up on the show. They cut you off after 30 seconds. You kind of realise you could have said a bit more, but time was up. There is no blame at all. Of course not - you throw the dice, don't you. Everyone watching at home thinks they know what it's like.'
Behind the Scenes of Phone A Friend
Jen became the second-biggest loser in show history after hoping to win big to fund a honeymoon with her newlywed husband Kyri, who was seated in the audience. Knowing he had been selected as a lifeline, Chris described being visited by a security worker from the show, who waited outside his home in his car before receiving the call. He explained: 'You're sat there with a security guy - he's actually a taxi driver. A taxi driver turns up and sits in his car until they get the call, then he comes in and says "you might get called for phone a friend". They tape the whole thing, so you're kind of waiting really, because it takes forever until they get to the point where they're going to call somebody. So you're just trying to relax while you're sat there. They are very, very pleasant – the staff on the phone are really brilliant. They talk you through it, keep you calm and keep it going. So I think that's a big upside really, it is very professional people running it. Jeremy himself was pretty brilliant – he was in a good mood and having a laugh.'
Family Pride and Future Plans
Chris revealed that Jen and her husband were enjoying a romantic getaway to Florence, using some of their winnings. He added: 'She said on the programme she'd use the prize money for a honeymoon – they got married at the end of August in Greece. We are always very proud of her.'
