Major Kashka and Company, or How to Cheat the Show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire"

A British Army soldier, Major Charles William Ingram, became one of three people who managed to win the TV show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire". But instead of a prosperous life of a millionaire, the officer found himself in a lot of trouble. He became the object of ridicule, was dismissed from service, received a criminal record and, finally, was given the offensive nickname Major Cough. Why did winning turn into such troubles for an intellectual in a military uniform?

The well-known TV show in our country "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" was first broadcast in Great Britain on the ITV channel on September 9, 1998. In order to win a million pounds sterling, a participant in the intellectual battle had to answer 15 questions correctly, each of which brought him closer to the main prize. In short, nothing new.

The show is designed in such a way that the participant can rely only on his own knowledge, as well as three hints - by phone from his friend, from the audience or the 50:50 option. The audience in the studio is located behind the players so as not to distract them and not to have the opportunity to give conventional signs. Also, 9 cameras are aimed at them and the participants, from which not a single detail escapes. At first glance, it seems that it is impossible to play unfairly in this case, but Charles Ingram proved the opposite in 2001, forever entering the history of British television shows as Major Cough.

Charles Ingram appeared in the studio of the TV show on September 9, 2001. The man told the host Chris Tarrant that he had no illusions and would be happy with any, even the most modest, win. Major Ingram's support group was represented by his wife Diana Ingram, who had previously participated in the show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" and even won 32 thousand pounds. The woman considered herself an expert in the intellectual game and even wrote a book of advice for those who wanted to earn money with their knowledge.

In the UK, the show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" is filmed over two days. On the first day, Charles answered 7 questions correctly. The major coped with five on his own, the audience helped him with the sixth question, and in the case of the seventh question, a 50:50 hint came to the rescue. The player had only one hint left out of three - "Phone a Friend".

On the second day of filming, Ingram was more confident and it was noticeable that he was in a great mood. The man immediately told the host that he had decided to "go on the counterattack" and fulfilled his promise. Charles immediately answered the question about Jacqueline Kennedy's second wife and without hesitation named the country where Emmental cheese was invented.

The major played according to a very unusual scenario - before answering, he repeated the answer options out loud several times, chose one that he thought was correct, but at the last moment abruptly changed his mind. This amused the audience and the host, and at the end of the game Chris Tarrant even called Charles the most unusual player in the history of the project.

The million dollar question was, "What do you call a number with 100 zeros after it?" The possible answers were: a) a googol; b) a megatron; c) a gigabit; d) a nanomole. Ingram hesitated between megatron and nanomole, almost choosing the latter, but changed his mind at the last minute.

This is what the finalist told the host, who replied that Charles had won a million pounds. Ingram cried with happiness, and his wife laughed and hugged him. The winner was immediately given a check that could be cashed at a bank. But the major had problems getting the money, as the show's organizer, Celador, accused him of fraud and froze the check. Moreover, a statement was filed against Ingram with the police, who immediately began an investigation.

As it turned out, one of the Celador employees who was editing the video accidentally noticed a cough that was periodically heard in the studio. It so happened that one of the people in the audience had coughing fits at the very moment when Charles Ingram was saying the answer options out loud.

To find out who was coughing, the police had to question more than 200 witnesses and even involve acoustic experts in the investigation. As it turned out, Tecwen Whittock, a 53-year-old participant in the show who was in the audience, suddenly fell ill.

Whittock was in dire need of money, as his job as a school teacher was poorly paid and his expenses were high. Tekwen's daughter attended a prestigious private school and the man was constantly getting into debt to pay for her education. To earn money, he participated in various shows, but was unable to win a more or less serious amount anywhere. On September 10, 2001, he was also in the studio of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" and once again tried his luck.

Charles and Diana Ingram categorically denied knowing Whittock, but police found out that not only did they know each other well, but they had also spoken on the phone 27 times shortly before the show. The investigation revealed that the Ingrams had been helping Whittock prepare for the qualifying rounds of the competition, and their last conversation took place on September 9, just before the show. Police assumed that it was during this phone conversation that Tecwen agreed to participate in the Ingrams' scam, for a fee, of course.

The scheme was very simple - the accomplice coughed when Charles, who was speaking the options out loud, named the correct one. In total, during the show, the cough sounded 192 times and 19 times coincided with the correct answers. There was a conspiracy of fraudsters and everything ended in a trial, which took place in 2003. All three were in the dock: the Ingrams and Whittock. The hearings took place over the course of 4 weeks, with dozens of witnesses being questioned, and the jury watched the recordings of the game from different cameras at different speeds until exhaustion.

The Ingrams and their accomplice categorically denied all the accusations. Charles and Diana refused to admit to a criminal conspiracy, and Tecwen stubbornly claimed that he suffered from allergies and coughed involuntarily. To confirm the suspect's words, the lawyers even brought his attending physician to court, who confirmed that Whittock had a long history of allergies and began to cough when in contact with dust. But this did not help and he was found to be an accomplice of the fraudsters.

As a result, on April 8, 2003, Charles and Diana were given a suspended sentence of one and a half years and ordered to pay £50,000 in compensation to the quiz show's organizers. Whittock received a suspended sentence of one year and a fine of £10,000. But Charles Ingram's misadventures did not end there. Four months later, the Army Council reviewed his misconduct and stripped him of his officer's rank, although he retained his pension in full.

Charles was not broken by the adversity and, having filed four appeals, he managed to reduce the fine to 30 thousand pounds. Unfortunately, the unsuccessful scam on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" did not teach Ingram anything and in October 2003 he was caught cheating again, this time with insurance.

Whittock, having become another £10,000 poorer, continued to participate in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, but as always, without success. On his next appearance on the show, he got the seventh question wrong and left the game with only £1,000 in his pocket. The college lecturer did not tempt fate again and nothing is known about his subsequent fate.

But Charles Ingram, nicknamed Major Cough by journalists, became popular. Swarup Vikas, a writer from India, used the story of the fraudster in his novel Q&A, published in 2005. To avoid ridicule and harassment from journalists, the Ingrams moved to another city. Today, the couple makes and sells souvenirs, but to make ends meet, they are periodically forced to agree to participate in a reality show where they tell their story. Even almost 20 years after the ill-fated show, the Ingrams deny their guilt and insist on their integrity.