A contestant on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire walked away with £500,000 on Sunday night after being stumped by a final question that many viewers at home described as 'easy'. Andrew Fanko, a 44-year-old translator from Market Harborough in Leicestershire, joined host Jeremy Clarkson in the studio and successfully navigated his way to the million-pound question, but ultimately fell short of claiming the top prize.
The Million-Pound Question
Jeremy Clarkson posed the following question: '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 four possible answers were A) Lin-Manuel Miranda, B) Cher, C) Andrew Lloyd Webber, or D) Bette Midler.
Fanko decided to use his Ask the Audience lifeline. The audience voted with Bette Midler leading at 36 per cent, followed by Andrew Lloyd Webber at 32 per cent. Lin-Manuel Miranda received 18 per cent, and Cher rounded out the totals with 14 per cent.
Fanko admitted: 'I'm struggling to think what Andrew Lloyd Webber won an Oscar for to be honest.' Having set a safety net of £500,000 earlier in the show, he was unwilling to risk the life-changing sum. He declared: 'I will very, very gratefully take my half a million pounds please which sounds unbelievable. And that is my final answer.'
Jeremy responded: 'It gives me great pleasure to say this, Andrew Fankle you are leaving here with your magnificently named wife, Frankie, with half a million pounds.'
Viewers React
After the show, Fanko revealed that if he had played the question, he would have guessed Lin-Manuel Miranda. Jeremy told him: 'If you had done that you would have lost £375k.' The correct answer was Andrew Lloyd Webber, who Jeremy happens to be going on holiday with next month.
Taking to social media, viewers expressed surprise at the difficulty. One wrote on X: 'One of the very few Million Pound Questions that I did know.' Another shared: 'Knew that was Lloyd-Webber. That's the second straight million pound question where I've personally known the answer.' A third agreed: 'I also knew it was Andrew Lloyd Weber. That question and the Suez one seemed a bit easy for the end.'
Previous Jackpot Winner
A recent episode of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire ended very differently, with one player bagging the full jackpot. Retired IT consultant Roman Dubowski answered 15 questions correctly to win one million pounds. It was a shaky start, as Roman stumbled on the £1,000 question and had to use his Ask The Audience lifeline.
For the £4,000 conundrum, Roman used his Phone A Friend lifeline to call his sister, who correctly answered 'Which of these fashion retailers was founded in Japan? A: Zara, B: Uniqlo, C: Urban Outfitters, D: FatFace'. From there, Roman sailed through topics including mythology, theatre, Harry Potter, history, and geography.
Roman entered the £1million question with two lifelines remaining. His final question was: 'Used since 1876 which trademarked logo is described in the James Joyce novel Ulysses and depicted in works by Manet and Picasso? A: Bass Ale, B: The Famous Grouse, C: Coca-Cola, D: Stella Artois'. He used his 50/50 lifeline, leaving A: Bass Ale and B: Coca-Cola. Convinced the answer was Bass Ale, he declined to use his Ask The Host lifeline and answered correctly, winning a million pounds.
Roman, who recently retired after a 34-year career as an IT Analyst, said: 'I was aiming for £32,000 or £64,000 - that would have been a fantastic result. Winning £1million never really crossed my mind. It's life-changing, but I don't want it to be personality-changing. It removes financial stress completely, that's what makes the biggest difference.' He plans to use the winnings to move home and enjoy more travel in retirement.
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire airs on ITV1 and ITVX.
