Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? has already made six contestants millionaires but it looks like more are on their way
19:08, 26 Apr 2026Updated 19:09, 26 Apr 2026
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire fans are in for a treat as the ITV show returns with the most dramatic series yet(Image: ITV)
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire will create the show’s seventh winner in its 28-year history during the new series which starts tonight.
One man could walk away with the jackpot in the first episode of the new series. But the surprises do not end there.
For the first time in the ITV series’ history, there are actually two people who reach the edge-of-your-seat million pound final question in the series. Producers are keeping tight-lipped about whether they both win., but have confirmed someone wins the £1million.
Tonight we will see a man called Roman get asked the million pound question by Jeremy Clarkson. And in a clip shown on Good Morning Britain on Thursday morning you could see he still had TWO lifelines intact including a 50:50, giving him a great chance of taking home the maximum prize.
ITV bosses are keeping the exact identity of the big winner a secret until the programme airs but the anxious contestant will be relieved when it finally does. He has been sworn to secrecy about revealing the outcome of his stint on the quiz.
And he’s been waiting months for the £1m life-changing money as the show was filmed a while ago and compliance rules and contractual requirements stipulate that TV winners cannot receive their cash until after their episode has been broadcast.
He will now join an exclusive club of just six other contestants who have hit the jackpot on the show. The series will also deliver some other surprises.
Judith Keppel was the first winner and scooped the £1million prize pot(Image: Videograb ITV)
One contestant loses a whopping £186,000 in a single moment – one of the biggest losses in the show’s history. The biggest loser was Nicholas Bennett who answered the £1 million question wrong and lost £375,000 last year.
Meanwhile TV viewers will be rooting for a war hero to do well in the quiz when he sits in the hot seat. He’s tree surgeon Joe from Nottingham. But prior to that, he was a royal marine and he was shot while serving in Afghanistan and now has a robotic leg and is hoping to win big.
Host Jeremy Clarkson says: “I think this might be my favourite series so far. There are some properly nail-biting moments and seeing two contestants get to the £1 million question was extraordinary. When they’re sitting there on that final question, the tension in the studio is incredible, you can really feel it. I can’t wait for people to watch it.”
Chris Tarrant hosted the game show for 15 years(Image: ITV/Daily Mirror )
The gripping action proves the show has not lost any of its pull among viewers even after almost three decades on the box. Clarkson adds: “It’s genuinely the granddaddy. There are a number of good TV quizzes but there is no getting away from the fact this is the big daddy, it’s the GOAT, it’s the OG. You can play at home. You have time to discuss with your family members and join in. On most quiz shows, you have to answer the questions as quickly as possible. With Millionaire, you can play along and the money is huge too. Winning a million.. that’s very infrequent, but even when they win £64k that’s a massive amount of money.”
The quiz was originally launched in 1998 with TV and radio presenter Chris Tarrant as host. It would regularly peak in the ratings as members of the public fought to bag the biggest prize on the telly trying to correctly answer 15 often difficult general knowledge multiple choice questions.
They are allowed to use three lifelines – 50-50, Ask The Audience and Phone A Friend – to help them on their way.
Mild-mannered Tarrant sat on the high chair posing questions to contestants for 16 years and coined catchphrases such as ‘Is that your final answer?’ (to confirm a contestant’s choice before locking it in), ‘Let’s take a break’ (pausing the action to create tension and go to an advert break) and also ‘But we don’t wanna give you that!’ (as he held up a cheque showing the amount a contestant had won so far).
He stepped down in 2014 and the show was rested. However in 2018, it was revived with former Top Gear presenter Clarkson, 66, in charge. He has graciously paid tribute to Tarrant, who is now 79, and says he ‘owes him completely’ for ‘setting things up nicely’ for him to take over.
He said: “I still think it’s his show. I am an imposter. Even though I have been doing the show for eight years, I still think of it as Chris Tarrant’s show.
“There are so many things like ‘Nice and quiet in the audience’ – that was all his. The language of the show was written by Chris and I am just doing it.”
In a new twist to Clarkson’s version, producers added an extra lifeline for contestants. It is called Ask The Host. Jezza admits it often has him sweating as not every question will be about cars, travel or space – his favourite subjects.
And he says: “I get nervous if the topics are women’s or Victorian literature. If I see Emily Brontë or Jane Austen in the question, I think ‘oh no’. You never get questions on Michael Crichton or Lee Child. It’s always the Brontë Sisters or Greek mythology and I am absolutely useless! You get quite a lot of cookery stuff too and I’m useless!”
After 28 years it is not surprising the show has had a few controversies – most notably in 2001 when Tarrant was host. A contestant called Major Charles Ingram sailed his way through the show and won the £1 million prize. However, alarm bells were raised when producers thought they could hear someone coughing in the audience to indicate the correct answers to him during the recording.
Ingram became known as The Coughing Major and following a fraud investigation the prize was later withdrawn. He and his wife Diana along with their pal Tecwen Whittock were found guilty in court of procuring the execution of a valuable security by deception.
The Ingrams received 18-month suspended jail sentences, and Whittock received 12 months, suspended for two years, plus heavy fines. However they have always denied the allegations against them.
And the show had made headlines two years before in 1999 when no less than three contestants were stripped of their winnings for failing to disclose previous criminal convictions when they applied for the show.
As a result Neil Muir lost £64,000, Andrew Lavelle was stripped of £16,000 and Sheridan Booth had to return his £500 win.
Despite these upsets, the show is still going strong in 2026. There are now versions broadcast in 100 countries around the world. In fact it has proved so popular in the UK that it even spawned two spin offs Millionaire Hot Seat and Fastest Finger First.
Clarkson can see Millionaire running and running. He adds: “I don’t see how you can become tired of it. It’s like saying ‘I’m bored of quizzes’. Nobody will ever get bored of quizzes. You can’t improve on the format and besides, why mess with it?”
* Who Wants To Be A Millionaire is back tonight (Sunday) at 8pm on ITV and ITVX.
Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .