'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire' Contestant Was On A Roll Until His Scheme Gets Exposed

The intense music. The challenging questions. The memorable lifelines. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is arguably the greatest game show of all time. And yet, in the days of its infancy, Major Charles Ingram and his wife, Diana managed to cheat the system all the way to the top. They actually almost got away with it — until viewers noticed one major clue that gave it away.

Deep in the hole

In 2001, the army veteran and his wife Diana were in tremendous debt. Months prior to their appearance on the show, Diana actually won £32,000 ($42,000) on the game show's U.K. version, making it seem like a lucrative opportunity to regain their financial footing. So with a little cash in hand, Ingram and his wife began to cook up a scheme to earn them even more.

Sky-high expectations

Originally, the plan was not to cheat. When the couple arrived on set, they were confident in Charles' potential. However, after the first few rounds, it became obvious that their expectations were a bit too high.

Early stumbles

Charles nearly bombed the first few questions. He crawled his way to £4,000 ($5,300), using up two of his lifelines in the process. By the time filming wrapped for the day, it became apparent that they needed a plan.

Finding a ringer

After day one of filming, Diana went to work to find a solution. She searched her contacts for someone nearby who could show up for the second day. She settled on a man with industry connections who could talk his way onto the set: Tecwen Whittock.