The first trailer for the Quiz has been released, and it offers fans their first glimpse at ITV’s three-part drama based on the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire coughing cheat scandal.
Michael Sheen takes centre stage in the preview as egendary presenter Chris Tarrant, while Succession star Matthew Macfadyen plays the army man who cheated his way to £1 million pounds with the help of his wife Diana.
Quiz will show how Charles and Diana used a few perfectly placed coughs to cheat their way to becoming millionaires on the titular quiz show, and how their crime was exposed and turned into a national scandal.
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Exciting: The first trailer for the Quiz has been released, and it offers fans their first glimpse of Michael Sheen as Who Wants To Be A Millionaire host Chris Tarrant
The trailer with a glimpse of the moment Charles comes face-to-face with Chris for the first time, ready to play for the top prize of £1 million.
It hints that it could be other forces that push Charles to try and cheat his way through the show, as someone tells him: ‘The man who asks the questions may be king, but the man who knows the answers is God.’
As Millionaire’s lights dim and the signature music plays, Charles and Diana (played by Sian Clifford) arrive at the ITV Studios for their appearance, but it seems that from the beginning The Major wasn’t pulling the strings in his plan.
Exciting: The ITV drama is based on the crimes of Major Charles Ingram, who used perfectly placed cought to cheat his way to the top prize on the show
Quiz man: Michael (left) will take on the role of Chris Tarrant (right at the trial in 2003) in the series. The veteran host has always said he had no indication Charles was cheating
Setting the stage: The trailer will also show how ITV executives reacted to the scandal, after crew members began to notice some was array during the recording
Scheming: Major Charles took to the hot seat to try and cheat his way to the top prize, though the drama hints that he may not have been so convinced by the idea
Diana says on the phone: ‘He’s going to need all the help he can get,’ while Celador Television Chairman Paul Smith (Mark Bonnar) adds that Millionaire is helping people make ‘life changing decisions.’
Charles famously cheated his way to the top prize with the help of fellow contestant Tecwen Whittock (played by Michael Jibson) who coughed after hearing the correct answer for each multiple choice questions.
The coughs would not have been heard by viewers at home watching the show (which was never aired apart from during an ITV documentary) as a majority of the sound was focused on the hot seat.
Shocked: Celador Television Chairman Paul Smith says in the trailer that Millionaire helps people make ‘life-changing decisions’
Dramatic: Diana famously watched her husband from the audience, and may have accidentally exposed their crime, as she coughs in the trailer
Later in the trailer, Charles insists that he’s a ‘commissioned officer in the British Army with standards,’ but still appears to go ahead with his plan.
Diana can then be seen watching her husband in the Millionaire audience, appearing to cough during one pivotal question.
In an ITV documentary based on the scandal, that moment came when Charles was playing to win £32,000 and neither he nor Whittock could decide whether to answer Craig David or A1.
Busted! The trailer shows several crew members spotting the abnormalities during Charles’ appearance on the show
Scared: Charles famously cheated his way to £1 million, and even during his trial repeatedly proclaimed his innocence
Shocked: The trailer shows the stunned reaction of some of ITV’s big bosses, when they realise that Charles is cheating
Quiz will also show the aftermath of Charles ‘win,’ as he and Diana are shown being interrogated by police officers, and claim that producers told him to dither on each answer in an attempt to build tension.
The trailer then hints that Charles could have used a rigged machine to make it through the Fastest Finger First round, when contestants had to put four answers in the correct order in the quickest time to reach the famous hot seat.
Throughout their trial and in its build-up Charles and Diana repeatedly insisted they hadn’t cheated, even when they were convicted of deception.
Not us! The trailer shows them being interrogated by the police, with Charles claiming producers asked him to take his time with each answer to build tension during filming
You’re nicked! The trailer ends with Charles and Diana being arrested, setting the stage for the drama to show their trial and conviction
Explosive: Charles tried to cheat his way to £1 million on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire in 2001, with the help of Tecwen Whittock (pictured during the recording which never aired)
Drama: Whittock (above) was sat just feet away from Charles in the studio, and would cough to indicate each correct answer
In line with Chris’ claims that he had no idea Charles was cheating when he recorded the show, Michael’s version of the presenter appears in the trailer jokingly saying: ‘I hope I notice if someone is going to steal a million quid two feet in front of you.’
Chris famously testified against Charles during his trial, and said in the documentary that he was amazed when he learned about the crime from ITV crew members.
The trailer ends with a furious reaction from ITV executives after learning that Charles had cheated, while the Major furiously appears in court saying he didn’t lie his way to £1 million.
After a four-week crown court trial in 2003, Charles and Diana were convicted of deception, and Ingram was given a 20-month suspended prison sentence.
His two accomplices were given 18-month suspended sentences for their part in the scam.
Quiz will air next month on ITV.
Caught: After a four-week crown court trial in 2003, Charles and Diana were convicted of deception, and Ingram was given a 20-month suspended prison sentence