‘This is something special’ Jeremy Clarkson left stunned by ‘show first’ as Millionaire player bids for huge jackpot
WHO Wants To Be a Millionaire host Jeremy Clarkson was left shocked during last night’s episode as he experienced an epic “show first.”
On Sunday (October 13), a new contestant set their safety net at over £100,000 in their bid to take home the ITV show’s huge jackpot.
After bringing back contestant Shahid Quayum from Glasgow to finish his turn from the previous week it was time for another Scot to test their knowledge in the hot seat. Kevin Leetion from Edinburgh quickly impressed viewers and TV host Jeremy Clarkson with his general knowledge.
Jeremy, 64, was left astonished as Kevin managed to reach the £125,000 mark without using a single lifeline or setting a safety net – quite a rare feat.
The lifelines allow players a helping hand, with options of 50:50, phone a friend, ask the audience or ask the host. Meanwhile, a safety net ensures that if they get the next answers wrong, they will still be going home with the amount that they have secured.
Before answering the £125,000 question, Kevin was offered the opportunity to set his safety net at £64,000 but he continued to race through the money ladder without it.
Facing the next round with no safety net, Jeremy asked: “Thomas Fairfax was a key figure in which of these historical events? A: Signing of the Magna Carter, B: Gunpowder Plot, C: English Civil War, or D: Great Fire of London.”
But Kevin was “100% sure” the answer was “English Civil War” so he easily passed through this round. It was only then that he decided to set a safety net.
“Absolutely tremendous,” Jeremy gushed. “And that means, I don’t think I’ve ever asked this before… Do you want to set your safety net at £125,000?” he asked with a laugh.
Shocked at what he’d just asked, Jeremy couldn’t help but laugh, while Kevin replied: “I will set it at that.”
“You will set it at that? And all lifelines left. This is… wow. My fingers are crossed here. This is something special,” Jeremy added.
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire fans had high hopes for the player as they thought he would “make it all the way”, but that was sadly not the case. Kevin quickly used up his lifelines as he made it through a few more rounds, but he was left stumped on the £500,000 question.
“According to their official measurements, which of these paintings is the smallest?” Jeremy asked, dangling the half a million pound prize money in front of Kevin.
The possible answers were The Starry Night, Mona Lisa, Girl With a Pearl Earring or American Gothic. Kevin was unsure of the answer and after phoning a friend who also couldn’t help, the player decided not to chance it by taking a guess and opted to take the money instead, meaning he was walking away from the quiz show a quarter of a million pounds richer.
Before bowing out, Kevin had been leaning toward picking Starry Night, but this wrong answer would have cost him £125,000. The correct answer was Girl With a Pearl Earring.
Hardest Quiz Show Questions
Would you know the answers to some of quizzing TV's hardest questions
- Who Wants To Be A Millionaire – Earlier this year, fans were left outraged after what they described as the “worst” question in the show’s history. Host Jeremy Clarkson asked: “From the 2000 awards ceremony onwards, the Best Actress Oscar has never been won by a woman whose surname begins with which one of these letters?” The multiple choice answers were between G, K, M and W. In the end, and with the £32,000 safe, player Glen had to make a guess and went for G. It turned out to be correct as Nicole Kidman, Frances McDormand and Kate Winslet are among the stars who have won the Best Actress gong since 2000.
- The 1% Club – Viewers of Lee Mack’s popular ITV show were left dumbfounded by a question that also left the players perplexed. The query went as follows: “Edna’s birthday is on the 6th of April and Jen’s birthday falls on the 15th of October, therefore Amir’s birthday must be the ‘X’ of January.” It turns out the conundrum links the numbers with its position in the sentence, so 6th is the sixth word and 15th is the fifteenth word. Therefore, Amir’s birthday is January 24th, corresponding to the 24th word in the sentence.
- The Chase – The ITV daytime favourite left fans scratching their heads when it threw up one of the most bizarre questions to ever grace the programme. One of the questions asked the player: “Someone with a nightshade intolerance should avoid eating what?” The options were – sweetcorn, potatoes, carrots – with Steve selecting sweetcorn but the correct answer was potatoes.
Fans at home were delighted for him, posting to X, formerly Twitter, with their well wishes for him.
One user penned: “He won £250k. I thought he might go all the way for a moment.”
While another wrote: “Good decision, Kevin. That was an awesome game there & he heads off with £250k!!”
“Absolutely correct decision by Kevin. Respect to him for the way he played,” a third praised.
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? airs on Sundays at 8pm on ITV and is available to stream on ITVX.