A Who Wants To Be A Millionaire contestant took home £500,000 on last night’s show after being left stumped by an ‘easy’ final question.
Andrew Fanko, 44, a translator from Market Harborough in Leicestershire, made it all the way to the million pound question – but ultimately fell short of becoming the show’s next top prize winner.
Host Jeremy Clarkson asked him: ‘Which of these is an EGOT winner, meaning they have won each of the four major entertainment awards – an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony?’
The four possible answers were A) Lin-Manuel Miranda, B) Cher, C) Andrew Lloyd Webber or D) Bette Midler.
The contestant opted to use his Ask The Audience lifeline, with Bette Midler coming out on top with 36 per cent followed by Andrew Lloyd Webber on 32 per cent.
Lin-Manuel Miranda got 18 per cent with Cher rounding out the totals with 14 per cent.
A Who Wants To Be A Millionaire contestant took home £500,000 on Sunday night’s show
Andrew Fanko, 44, a translator from Market Harborough in Leicestershire,fell at the last hurdle
Mr Fanko said: ‘I’m struggling to think what Andrew Lloyd Webber won an Oscar for to be honest.’
Having set a safety net of £500,000 earlier in the show, he was unwilling to risk the life-changing sum.
With this in mind, Mr Fanko declared: ‘I will very, very gratefully take my half a million pounds please which sounds unbelievable. And that is my final answer.’
Clarkson responded: ‘It gives me great pleasure to say this, Andrew Fanko you are leaving here with your magnificently named wife, Frankie, with half a million pounds.’
Mr Fanko revealed if he had played the question, Hamilton star Lin-Manuel, 46, would have been his guess.
To which the presenter told him: ‘If you had done that, you would have lost £375,000.’
Clarkson added the correct answer was Lloyd Webber – who he happens to be going on holiday with next month.
Taking to social media, viewers watching at home described the question as ‘easy’.
One wrote on X: ‘One of the very few Million Pound Questions that I did know.’
Another shared: ‘Knew that was Lloyd Webber. That’s the second straight million pound question where I’ve personally known the answer.’
A third agreed: ‘I also knew it was Andrew Lloyd Weber. That question and the Suez one seemed a bit easy for the end.’
A recent episode of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire ended very differently – as one player bagged the full jackpot.
Retired IT consultant Roman Dubowski answered a whopping 15 questions correctly to win one million pounds.
It was a shaky start though as he stumbled on the £1,000 question and had to use his Ask The Audience lifeline.
Mr Fanko said he would’ve guessed Lin-Manuel Miranda – but the answer was Lloyd Webber
For the £4,000 conundrum, Mr Dubowski was forced to use his Phone A Friend lifeline to call his sister to ask ‘Which of these fashion retailers was founded in Japan? A: Zara, B: Uniqlo, C: Urban Outfitters, D: FatFace’.
His sister immediately answered correctly, sending her brother to the next question.
From there it was smooth sailing for Mr Dubowski, who soared through various topics including mythology, theatre and Harry Potter and some questions on his favourite subjects of history and geography.
Before reaching the final question, he modestly revealed he planned to spend any winnings on ‘home improvements’ including a new kitchen.
Roman entered the £1million question with two lifelines remaining, his 50/50 and his Ask The Host.
His final question was: ‘Used since 1876 which trademarked logo is described in the James Joyce novel Ulysses and depicted in works by Manet and Picasso? A: Bass Ale, B: The Famous Grouse, C: Coca-Cola, D: Stella Artois.’
Roman admitted ‘I have something in my head’ but opted to stay safe and use his 50/50 lifeline leaving him with A: Bass Ale and B: Coca-Cola.
Roman was then convinced the answer was Bass Ale, recalling a painting by Manet depicting the brand’s logo. He decided not to use his Ask The Host lifeline to gasps from the audience and went straight for answer A, landing him a million pounds.
As the confetti fell a cool and calm Roman admitted ‘it hasn’t sunk in’ and said the first person he would call with the news would be his sister who helped him.
Mr Dubowski, who recently retired after a 34-year career as an IT analyst, said: ‘I was aiming for £32,000 or £64,000 – that would have been a fantastic result.’
‘Winning £1million never really crossed my mind. It’s life-changing, but I don’t want it to be personality-changing,’ he added. ‘It removes financial stress completely, that’s what makes the biggest difference.’
He planned to use the winnings to move home after more than 30 years in the same property, as well as enjoying more travel in retirement.
‘I was already thinking about moving, and this gives me the opportunity to do that at the right time in my life,’ he added.
Having applied for the show three times over more than two decades, Mr Dubowski described simply making it on to the programme as an achievement in itself.
‘Just getting onto the show felt like a win,’ he said. ‘If you’re thinking of applying, I’d say have a go. You never know what might happen.’
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire airs on ITV1 and ITVX.
