''Quiz'' is a British drama television serial by James Graham, based on Graham's play of the same name commissioned by William Village and the book ''Bad Show: the Quiz, the Cough, the Millionaire Major'' by

Bob Woffinden Robert Woffinden (31 January 1948 – 1 May 2018) was a British investigative journalist. Formerly a reporter with the ''New Musical Express'', he later specialised in investigating miscarriages of justice. He wrote about a number of high-profi ...

and

James Plaskett Harold James Plaskett (born 18 March 1960) is a British chess grandmaster and writer. Biography Early life and personal life Plaskett was born in Dhekelia, Cyprus, on 18 March 1960 and was educated at Bedford Modern School, England. In the ...

. It is directed by

Stephen Frears Stephen Arthur Frears (born 20 June 1941) is an English director and producer of film and television often depicting real life stories as well as projects that explore social class through sharply drawn characters. He's received numerous accola ...

and consists of three hour-long episodes. The series focuses on

Charles Ingram Charles William Ingram (born 6 August 1963) is an English novelist and former British Army major who gained notoriety for his appearance on the ITV television game show ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?''. In episodes recorded in September 200 ...

, a former army major in the Royal Engineers, and how he unexpectedly won the £1,000,000 jackpot on the quiz show ''

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' (often informally called ''Millionaire'') is an international television game show franchise of British origin, created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight. In its format, currently owned and l ...

'' in 2001, followed by a

criminal trial Criminal procedure is the adjudication process of the criminal law. While criminal procedure differs dramatically by jurisdiction, the process generally begins with a formal criminal charge with the person on trial either being free on bail ...

in which he and his wife were convicted of cheating their way to success. The series received positive reviews from critics. Released during the height of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

lockdowns worldwide, ''Quiz'' received a large audience — similar to the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

documentary '' Tiger King'' — with the first episode being seen live by an average audience of 5.3 million in the UK. While the show was still airing, Charles Ingram's Wikipedia article was one of the most viewed on the site.

Summary

In 2001, at the height of the public obsession with ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'', a British army major named Charles Ingram and his wife, Diana, apparently swindled the British game show. The morning after Ingram bumbled his way to a million pounds, broadcaster ITV and production company Celador realized something had been amiss: a series of coughs by the Ingrams' alleged accomplice, Tecwen Whittock, may have led Ingram to the answers. It was a massive scandal, resulting in a court case that found all three guilty.

Episodes

Cast

* Matthew Macfadyen as

Michael Sheen Michael Christopher Sheen OBE (born 5 February 1969) is a Welsh actor, television producer and political activist. After training at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), he worked mainly in theatre throughout the 1990s with stage rol ...

Chris Tarrant Christopher John Tarrant, (born 10 October 1946) is an English broadcaster, television personality and former radio DJ. He presented the ITV children's television show '' Tiswas'' from 1974 to 1981, and the game show '' Who Wants to Be a Mil ...

Sian Clifford Sian Clifford (born 7 April 1982) is an English actress. She is best known for playing Claire, the older sister of the titular character in the BBC comedy-drama series ''Fleabag'' (2016–2019) and also portrayed Martha Crawley in the ITV/Amazo ...

as Diana Ingram *

Mark Bonnar Richard Mark Bonnar (born 19 November 1968) is a Scottish actor. He is known for his roles as Max in ''Guilt'', Duncan Hunter in '' Shetland'', Bruno Jenkins in ''Casualty'', Detective Finney in ''Psychoville'', DCC Mike Dryden in '' Line of Du ...

as Paul Smith *

Helen McCrory Helen Elizabeth McCrory (17 August 1968 – 16 April 2021) was an English actress. After studying at the Drama Centre London, she made her stage debut in ''The Importance of Being Earnest'' in 1990. Other stage roles include playing Lady Mac ...

as Sonia Woodley QC *

Michael Jibson Michael Jibson (born 16 December 1980) is an English actor, director, writer and voice over artist. Jibson started his career in the theatre. He has been nominated for an Olivier Award twice, once when he was only 22 in 2003, for his work on ...

as Tecwen Whittock *

Aisling Bea Aisling Clíodhnadh O'Sullivan (born 16 March 1984), known professionally as Aisling Bea ( ), is an Irish comedian, actor and writer. She created, wrote and starred in the comedy series '' This Way Up'' on Channel 4. As a stand-up comedian, she ...

as Claudia Rosencrantz *

Trystan Gravelle Trystan Gravelle (born 4 May 1981) is a Welsh theatre, film and television actor. Life and career Gravelle was born in the Welsh village of Trimsaran in Carmarthenshire. He attended Ysgol Gyfun Y Strade. He was a member of the Llanelli Youth T ...

as Adrian Pollock *

Elliot Levey Elliot Levey (born 6 December 1973) is an Olivier award winning actor. Career Olivier award winner for the role of Herr Shultz in Cabaret.known for his work in British Theatre, he has performed at the Donmar Warehouse, Almeida and National Th ...

as David Briggs *

Risteárd Cooper Risteárd Cooper (; born February 1969) is an Irish actor, comedian, singer and writer and is one third of comedy trio ''Après Match''. Cooper attended St Michael's College, Ballsbridge. He joined the National Youth Theatre aged 16. On leavin ...

David Liddiment David Liddiment (born 20 September 1952) is Creative Director of the independent production company All3Media. He is also an associate of The Old Vic Theatre Company and a member of the BBC Trust, the governing body of the British Broadcasting Cor ...

* Jasmyn Banks as Nicola Howson * Andrew Leung as Kevin Duff *

Martin Trenaman Martin Trenaman (born 1962) is an English comedy writer and actor, who has contributed to many modern comedy series. He played Simon's father, Alan Cooper, in the sitcom ''The Inbetweeners'' (2008-10). He reprised the role of Mr. Cooper for the ...

as DS Ferguson *

Nicholas Woodeson Nicholas Woodeson (born 30 November 1949) is an English film, television and theatre actor, and Drama Desk and Olivier award nominee. Early life Woodeson was born in Sudan and lived in the Middle East as a boy. He started performing at prep sc ...

as Nicholas Hilliard QC *

Paul Bazely Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

as Lionel from Legal

Production

The scenes in the ''Who Wants to be a Millionaire?'' studio were filmed in a set constructed at

Wimbledon Studios Wimbledon Film & Television Studios is an English film and television production company and facilities provider, located in Colliers Wood, between Mitcham and Wimbledon in south London. History Wimbledon Studios was established as the Mer ...

. Scenes were also filmed outside

Southwark Crown Court The Crown Court at Southwark, commonly but inaccurately called Southwark Crown Court, is one of two locations of the Crown Court in the London SE1 postcode area, along with the Crown Court at Inner London. Opened in 1983, the brick building is ...

and inside a former court building in Hammersmith.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the series holds a 95% "Certified Fresh" approval rating based on 36 reviews, with an average rating of 7.57/10. The website's consensus reads, "With clever writing, a slick production, and a pitch perfect Michael Sheen, ''Quiz'' crafts a captivating snapshot of a wild scandal that will keep viewers on their toes." Ingram himself praised the series, calling it "balanced".

References

External links