Piers Morgan loses £15,000 on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire… but generously gives charity the missing cash out of his own pocket
Piers Morgan was left feeling downtrodden after losing £15,000 on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire on Saturday night.
The Good Morning Britain host, 55, appeared on the celebrity Boxing Day special of the hit programme alongside his longtime rival Jeremy Clarkson.
But Piers did not fare well on the quiz show as he lost a staggering £15,000 after incorrectly answering a question about Formula One.
Ouch! Piers Morgan was left feeling downtrodden after losing £15,000 on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire on Saturday night after incorrectly answering a question about Formula One
He was asked by host Jeremy: ‘Which of these world champion racing drivers has not been a teammate of Lewis Hamilton in Formula 1?’
The presenter was given four options – Kimi Raikkonen, Nico Rosberg, Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button – but admitted that he had ‘no idea’.
He attempted to use his phone-a-friend, after running out of his other lifelines, but his ITV co-host Susanna Reid was just as baffled as he was and came up short.
She said: ‘Why on earth would I know the answer to that?’
Help me! The Good Morning Britain host, 55, walked away from the show with a mere £1,000 for his chosen charity Scotty’s Little Soldiers after his humiliating defeat
Piers eventually answered Jenson Button, but was sadly incorrect and walked away from the show with a mere £1,000 for his chosen charity Scotty’s Little Soldiers.
But the journalist said he would make up the money so the charity, who support children who have lost a parent serving in the British Armed Force, did not lose out on £15,000 from his humiliating defeat.
Piers said: ‘I will make up the difference. The charity will get the money, no matter what happens, whether it’s from you, the show or me. The charity is not going to lose. I just lose what’s left of my reputation. I’m going to guess.’
This did not stop his rival, who famously got into a dispute with Piers at the 2004 Press Awards, from teasing him after he answered Jensen Button rather than Kimi Raikkonen.
The motoring expert, 60, quipped: ‘You’ve humiliated yourself. And you’ve cost yourself £15,000.’
Teasing: This did not stop his longtime rival Jeremy Clarkson from teasing Piers after he got the question wrong in the motoring expert’s area of expertise
But the former Top Gear presenter was quick to give Piers credit for making up the cash, adding: ‘But actually very nobly, credit where credit is due, you’re going to make up the difference.’
The charity’s founder Nikki Scott was extremely grateful for Piers’ donation, saying the sizeable amount of money will make a ‘huge difference’.
She said: ‘It was amazing to sit and watch Piers on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? and know that he was playing for Scotty’s. I was on the edge of my seat throughout the whole show.
‘We are so honoured that Piers chose to support Scotty’s and it’s incredible that he has said he will donate £15,000 of his own money to the charity, on top of the £1,000 that he has won.
‘£16,000 will make a huge difference to us as a charity and to the children we support. We can’t thank him enough.’
Generous: But Piers said he would make up the money so the charity, who support children who have lost a parent serving in the British Armed Force, did not lose out on £15,000