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TV quiz cheat charges: 3 in court
LONDON, England -- A British Army major has appeared in court accused of cheating his way to the top prize in the British version of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" Maj. Charles Ingram. 39, who was in the dock with his wife and a college lecturer for what should have been the beginning of a four-week hearing, allegedly tricked game show host Chris Tarrant into signing a cheque for £1 million ($1.57m). But following legal argument, Judge George Rivlin QC agreed to a 48-hour delay. Ingram and nursery nurse wife Diana, 38, of Easterton, western England, and Tecwen Whittock, 52, of Whitchurch, Wales, and is head of business studies at Pontypridd College, Wales, each deny two charges. The first alleges that between January 1 and September 11, 2001, they "conspired together and with others with a view to gain for themselves or with intent to cause loss to another, dishonestly to procure Christopher Tarrant to sign a cheque by deception, namely by falsely representing that Charles Ingram did not receive any assistance when answering questions on the television show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" The second charge claims that they simply procured a valuable security by deception on September 10 that year and contained similar wording. The trio were arrested in November 2001 after the programme makers Celador Productions became suspicious that Ingram had been helped to win the jackpot and called in Scotland Yard's Special Inquiry Team. The police probe centred on allegations that Ingram, who serves with the Royal Engineers, had been aided by someone coughing in the audience. Contestants must answer 15 multiple-choice general knowledge questions correctly to win the top prize. The show featuring Ingram being presented with the £1 million cheque, recorded in September 2001, has never been broadcast. Ingram and his wife, of Easterton, Wiltshire, western England and Whittock from Cardiff, Wales, deny charges of conspiracy and "procuring the execution of a valuable security by deception." Ingram has started legal action to recover the money, which was withheld by the programme makers after the show. After the inquiry was announced, he held a news conference and denied any wrongdoing. Diana Ingram and her brother Adrian were previous winners on the show taking £32,000 ($50,000) each. She later wrote a book called "Win A Million," based on a theory both she and her brother had used to succeed. "Millionaire," hosted in Britain by Chris Tarrant, has become one of the television world's most successful formats. First aired in Britain in September 1998, it has since been broadcast in local versions in more than 100 countries, including the United States. Since it started, more than 50 people around the world have managed to claim the top prize. Three Britons have managed the feat: garden designer Judith Keppel was first in November 2000, followed by teacher David Edwards in April 2001 and unemployed banker Robert Brydges in September 2001.
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