Charles Ingram
Charles Ingram | |
---|---|
Born | Charles William Ingram 6 August 1963 Shardlow, Derbyshire, England |
Education | Oswestry School |
Alma mater | Kingston University |
Occupation(s) | Novelist, army major |
Known for | Appearance on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and subsequent scandal |
Spouse |
Diana Ingram (m. 1989) |
Children | 3 |
Military career | |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ | British Army |
Years of service | 1987–2003 |
Rank | Major |
Service number | 525791 |
Charles William Ingram (born 6 August 1963) is an English fraudster, novelist and former British Army major who gained fame for his appearance on the ITV television game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? In episodes recorded in September 2001, Ingram correctly answered fifteen questions to win the show's maximum prize of £1 million, becoming the third recorded contestant to ever do so. However, he was denied the winnings due to suspicion of cheating.[1]
Following a lengthy trial at Southwark Crown Court, Ingram was convicted on a single count of procuring the execution of a valuable security by deception. He was subsequently convicted of an unrelated offence involving insurance fraud in 2003 and ordered to resign his commission as a major by the Army Board.
Early life
Charles William Ingram was born on 6 August 1963 in
Ingram's parents divorced when he was young and he spent most of his education years boarding privately at Oswestry School in Oswestry, Shropshire.[4] There he was a member of the Combined Cadet Force and completed the Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award.[3] He went on to obtain a BSc in civil engineering from Kingston University.[4]
Military career
In 1987, Ingram trained for the
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? scandal
£1 million (15 of 15) – No time limit | |
A number one followed by one hundred zeros is known by what name? | |
⬥ A: Googol | ⬥ B: Megatron |
⬥ C: Gigabit | ⬥ D: Nanomole |
Ingram's £1 million question |
On 9 September 2001, Ingram became a contestant on the
Throughout Ingram's run, the production team were increasingly suspicious of him. He was taking brazen risks and playing the game in an unusual manner. One of the questions Ingram got during the run was "Who had a hit UK album with
After Ingram had won the £1 million, producers were suspicious enough that a search was performed on him. His hair, clothing, and shoes were searched; however, the method of cheating used meant that nothing incriminating was found on his person. After he left the set, the show's production company, Celador, were tipped off by the show's producers of the assumed irregularities occurring within the quiz and suspended the jackpot payout to investigate the matter. At the same time, the show's presenter, Chris Tarrant, overheard that the Ingrams had been arguing, despite Ingram's success, moments before Tarrant joined them in their dressing room for champagne; another member of the production team also noted a similar thought about the couple's behaviour.[16] While reviewing the recording, the production team made a connection between Ingram's answers and coughs coming from one of the waiting contestants, Tecwen Whittock; for one question, the coughing came from Ingram's wife Diana while she was in the audience.[13] Based on this evidence, all three were accused of cheating, and the matter handed over to police to investigate further. Whittock and the Ingrams were eventually charged with "procuring the execution of a valuable security by deception".
Trial
Following
On 19 August 2003, the Army Board ordered Ingram to resign his commission as a major after sixteen years of service, but stated that this would not affect his pension entitlements.[18]
On 19 May 2004, the
In 2006, journalist
Recorded evidence
In court, Ingram claimed the videotape of his appearance on Millionaire was "unrepresentative of what I heard", and he continues to assert that it was "unfairly manipulated". A video recording, with coughing amplified relative to other sounds, including Ingram's and Tarrant's voices, was prepared by Celador's editors (Editworks) for the prosecution and "for the benefit of the jury" during the trial (and later for viewers in television broadcasts). Ingram claims that he neither "listened for, encouraged, nor noticed any coughing". The prosecution alleged that, of the 192 coughs recorded during his second-night performance, 32 were recorded from the ten Fastest Finger First contestants, and that 19 of the 32 coughs heard on the video tape were "significant". The prosecution asserted that these "significant" coughs were by Whittock when the correct answer had been spoken. During the trial, Tarrant also denied hearing any coughing throughout the episode, claiming he was too busy to notice.[22]
Testimony of Larry Whitehurst
Larry Whitehurst, another contestant who had appeared on the show as a Fastest Finger First contestant on four occasions, was adamant that he had known the answers to Ingram's questions. He told the court that he had been able to detect a pattern of coughing, and that he was entirely convinced that coughing had helped Ingram.[23]
Testimony of Tecwen Whittock
Whittock claims to have suffered a persistent cough for his entire life,
Davies, the floor manager on Millionaire, said that as soon as the coughing came to his notice during the recording he decided to find out who was responsible. "The loudest coughing was coming from Tecwen in seat number three", he said. "He was talking to the person to his left when I was observing him, and then he turned towards the set and the hot seat to cough"— and while Davies described this as "bizarre", Whittock remarked during the trial, "You do not cough into someone's face".[27]
During the trial, Whittock portrayed himself as a "serial quiz show loser" because he had been eliminated in round one of
After Millionaire
Books
Since leaving the Army, Ingram has written two novels: The Network (2006) and Deep Siege (2007).[29][30]
TV appearances
Following his appearance on Millionaire, Ingram has appeared on various other television shows, including Channel 4's The Games,[31] the BBC's The Weakest Link, and Channel 4's Wife Swap, featuring alongside his wife in the latter two.[32]
On The Weakest Link, Anne Robinson jokingly referred to the "dashing young major with a throat infection", regarding his Millionaire appearance. A question was also posed concerning, "In classical music what 'C' is the act of throat clearing which members of the audience are asked to try to avoid?", the answer being "coughing".
Ingram also narrowly lost to Paul Daniels on the short-lived Channel 5 game show 19 Keys in November 2003.
Insurance fraud case
In late 2003, Ingram and his wife were charged with further
Christopher Parker, prosecuting, said Ingram switched insurers to Zurich Insurance Group in 1997, after Norwich Union reduced a burglary claim from £19,000 to £9,000, and in 2000 switched again to Direct Line. "He has been ineluctably dishonest," Parker said. "He went to Direct Line and didn't make a disclosure about his claims history, because he knew he wouldn't have been insured. It might not have started off as the most monstrous piece of villainy but these things tend to snowball and it all came to a sticky end when he claimed for £30,000." Staff at Direct Line were already "suspicious" about Ingram's £30,000 burglary claim but decided to investigate only after reading newspaper coverage about his questionable win on Millionaire.[33]
Ingram was given a
In popular culture
A book covering the case, Bad Show: The Quiz, The Cough, The Millionaire Major, by Bob Woffinden and James Plaskett, was published in January 2015.
Personal life
Ingram met his wife, Diana, while she was training to be a teacher at Barry College in Wales. The two became engaged during his first posting with the Royal Engineers in Germany. They were married in November 1989 and have three children.[3]
In 2010, Ingram lost three toes on his left foot in an accident involving a
See also
References
- ^ "Millionaire cheat told to leave Army". The Daily Telegraph. 24 July 2003. Archived from the original on 5 January 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
- ^ (RAF/39187)
- ^ a b c d "The major: strategist who flunked simple questions; Profile". The Times. 8 April 2003. p. 11. Archived from the original on 1 April 2024. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
- ^ a b Walne, Toby (16 September 2006). "Fame and fortune". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 3 October 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
- ^ a b "No. 52131". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 May 1990. p. 8819.
- ^ "The major behind the sting" Archived 21 January 2023 at the Wayback Machine. news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
- ^ Vasagar, Jeevan (20 March 2003). "Pager claims are rot, major tells court". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 3 October 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
- ^ "The man behind the scams". BBC News. 28 October 2003. Archived from the original on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
- ^ "Marching orders for Army gameshow cheat". Al Jazeera. 24 July 2003. Archived from the original on 8 December 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
- ^ "Major Charles Ingram has been found guilty of cheating his way to the top prize on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire". BBC News. 7 April 2003. Archived from the original on 6 December 2008. Retrieved 13 May 2008.
- ^ Martin Bashir (2003). Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: Major Fraud (Television). London, England: ITV.
- ^ Woolcock, Nicola (22 March 2003). "Millionaire quiz major had ploy to foil Tarrant". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 17 December 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- ^ a b Harrison, Angus (9 September 2016). "That Time a Guy Won 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?' by Cheating Terribly". VICE. Archived from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
- ^ Martin Bashir (2003). Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: Major Fraud (Television). London, England: ITV.
- ^ https://archive.org/details/major-fraud
- ^ "Millionaire winner 'unhappy'". BBC News. 10 March 2003. Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 13 May 2008.
- ^ "Charles Ingram transcript". Evening Standard. 21 January 2004. Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
- ^ "BBC NEWS - UK - Millionaire cheat sacked by Army". news.bbc.co.uk. 24 July 2003. Archived from the original on 30 November 2005. Retrieved 3 July 2008.
- ^ "TV quiz cheat loses his appeal". BBC News. 19 May 2004. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 13 May 2008.
- ^ "Quiz cheat has defence costs cut". BBC News. 21 October 2004. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 13 May 2008.
- ^ Ronson, Jon (17 July 2006). "Are the Millionaire three innocent?". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 3 June 2023. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
- ^ Mcveigh, Karen (13 March 2003). "Quizmaster 'amazed' to hear £1m winner could have cheated". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. Archived from the original on 15 November 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2008.
- ^ "Contestant 'spotted Millionaire coughs'". BBC News. 11 March 2003. Archived from the original on 14 March 2003. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
- ^ "So I phoned a friend – part two". The Guardian. London. 19 April 2003. Archived from the original on 1 April 2024. Retrieved 13 May 2008.
- ^ a b c Innes, John (7 March 2003). "Pager plot too risky for TV quiz". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 13 May 2008.
- ^ "Cheating 'silly' says Millionaire accused". BBC News. 26 March 2003. Archived from the original on 13 March 2018. Retrieved 13 May 2008.
- ^ "Playing the game". Archived from the original on 20 October 2004. Retrieved 26 September 2004.
- ^ Innes, John (26 March 2003). "Lecturer a serial quiz show failure, court is told". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. Archived from the original on 18 April 2003. Retrieved 13 May 2008.
- ISBN 978-1-84386-380-9. Archivedfrom the original on 1 April 2024. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
- ^ The Network Hardcover – 18 April 2006. ASIN 1846240026.
- ^ "The Games". UK Game Shows. Archived from the original on 30 November 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
- ^ "Goody and Ingram's celebrity swap". The BBC. 3 November 2003. Archived from the original on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
- ^ a b Woolcock, Nicola (29 October 2003). "'Millionaire' quiz cheat guilty of insurance fraud". Daily Telegraph (UK). Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
- ^ Savill, Richard (22 November 2003). "Cheating major walks free over insurance fraud". Daily Telegraph (UK). Archived from the original on 24 August 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
- ^ "Quiz". Chichester Festival Theatre. Archived from the original on 21 August 2017. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ^ "Quiz the Play by James Graham | Official West End Website". 12 April 2018. Archived from the original on 12 April 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- ^ "ITV has commissioned 'Quiz' a three-part drama directed by Stephen Frears starring Hollywood star, Michael Sheen". ITV Media. Archived from the original on 15 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ^ Millionaire cheat loses toes in accident Archived 5 June 2020 at the Wayback Machine. The Independent.
External links
- Charles Ingram at IMDb