Major Charles Ingram admits he ‘doesn’t like quizzes’ as he is pressured to go on Who Wants To Be A Million by his quiz-obsessed wife and brother-in-law in the new hotly anticipated drama.
Quiz, which is a three-part dramatisation of the 2001 ‘coughing’ scandal, which airs on Monday, begins by highlighting how Major Charles Ingram, played by Matthew Macfadyen, was never actually a quiz fan.
However, for his wife Diana, played by Sian Clifford, and brother-in-law Adrian Pollock, played by Trystan Gravelle, knowing the answer is a way of life.
When television producer Paul Smith (Mark Bonnar) puts everything on the line to make the ITV quiz show, a much-loved pub-quiz hobby turns into outright obsession.
The first episode of ITV’s three-part dramatisation of the 1997 Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? scandal airs on Monday. It focuses on the fact Major Charles Ingram’s wife Diana and brother-in-law Adrian were big quiz fans
Chris Tarrant, who is played by Michael Sheen (pictured), comments on the fact he has seen Adrian in the studio four times when he finally makes it to the hot seat
But as Diana and Adrian’s repeated attempts to get into the hot seat fall short, all eyes turn to an unsuspecting Charles to win the million-pound prize.
The opening episode follows the attempts of ITV’s new director, David Liddiment, to form the premise of a new quiz show that will grip the nation, and it soon turns into the award-winning programme hosted by Chris Tarrant, who is played by Michael Sheen.
And with the chance to win £1 million, it isn’t long before pub quiz lovers from across the globe set to work in a bid to hack the system and become contestants on the quiz show.
Among those hoping for a chance to become millionaires are quiz fans Diana Ingram and her brother Adrian, who reach out to a group of elite pub quizzers known as ‘The Syndicate,’ who claim they can help individuals get onto the show in return for a fee.
As Diana and Adrian’s (pictured together) repeated attempts to get into in the hot seat fall short, all eyes turn to an unsuspecting Charles to win the million-pound prize
Later, Adrian can be heard speaking to Paddy Spooner, played by Jeremy Killick – who managed to get in the chair three times – despite the rules saying you can only sit in the hot seat once.
‘It was three different versions, three countries – Australia, Ireland and the UK,’ explains Paddy. ‘They don’t check. There’s a lot they don’t check.’
‘I’ve been working with some people – an underground community has sprung up.
‘They are fans of the show who have grown into a quiet little resistance in the quiet little villages of England, but the perfect place to plan our attack.’
He goes on: ‘In the world of quizzing, the man who has the questions may be King, but the man who has the answers is God.’
‘Thousands of people call the hotline, the show selects a random hundred numbers to call back with a question that’s all but impossible to get exactly right.
‘What the makers haven’t predicted was what people tend to do – talk to each other.
‘The fools are using the same “closest to” questions, in rotation, time and again. All you need is a network, or, as we call ourselves, “The Syndicate.”
The experience quizzer then goes on to advise Adrian that when he gets the callback from the producers, he should pretend to be someone else and say that Adrian is out, to give them time to prepare and for Paddy to mobilise – before helping him with the answer.
Paddy then says that once in the chair, there’s a final highly bespoke service they offer on their phone a friend.
When Adrian and Diana both make it into the hot seat and fail to scoop the big prize, they turn to Charles as a last resort. Pictured Chris Tarrant, played by Michael Sheen
Adrian and Diana sit down and watch the popular ITV quiz show together in a bid to get tips to get on the show
‘There’s a room in London where we gather – the finest pub quizzers in the land – secretly, silently, in solidarity,’ he explains. ‘If you give the producers one of the dozen special numbers we have around the country, they are all diverted here, to this one phone.’
After hearing Paddy is expecting 25 per cent in return, Adrian replies: ‘I am grateful for all the hints and tips and things, but I’m not sure whether I need your services.’
However, when Adrian and Diana both make it into the hot seat and fail to scoop the big prize, both walking away with £32, 00, they turn to Charles as a last resort.
‘You must go on – onto the show,’ Diana tells him. ‘I’ve been on, Adrian has – it’s your turn.’
A frustrated Charles replies: ‘It’s my turn is it, to join the family business? I warned you of these bad schemes. I don’t even like quizzes!’
Meanwhile, the repeated reappearance of middle-class, professional quizzers has not gone unnoticed by the ITV team and Paul makes a vow to stop them by any means necessary.
Quiz will air on Monday 13th April at 9pm on ITV
Mark Bonnar (pictured) plays Who Wants To Be A Millionaire producer Paul Smith in the new three-part drama series