Stars quids in for charity

Carol Vorderman: In the hot seat

Maths mastermind Carol Vorderman and news presenter Kirsty Young have raised almost £200,000 for charity on a TV quiz show.

They separately pitted their considerable wits against the computer in a one-off edition of ITV's Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

Vorderman, known for her quickfire solutions to sums on Channel 4's Countdown, pledged her £125,000 winnings to little-known charity Express Link-Up, which provides computers for children's hospital wards.

ITN newsreader Young, who found fame presenting Channel 5's news bulletins, donated her £64,000 prize money to Centrepoint, the national charity for young homeless people.

Grilling

But it was not all plain sailing for the brainy pair.

Vorderman, who was the first to take her place opposite the show's presenter Chris Tarrant, used all three of her lifelines on the tough questions.

She dithered over "Who killed Billy the Kid?" for £16,000 but eventually took the advice of the audience that Pat Garrett was the correct answer.

Kirsty Young: Feeling the pressure

Answering the £125,000 question went smoothly but Vorderman bottled out of taking a chance on the £250,000 puzzler - "Which Shakespeare play features a character called Sir Toby Belch?".

The mathematician, who has an IQ of 154, later said she had a good idea that the correct answer was Twelfth Night, but decided to play safe, as a wrong answer would have cost her chosen good cause £93,000.

"It was the most nervewracking experience of my life," she said.

Kirsty Young also decided not to risk her final question, worth £125,000: "What was John Wayne's last film?" saying she hated Westerns. The correct answer was The Shootist.

BBC sports presenter John Inverdale helped Young to £32,000, via phone, by promptly answering "Which sport traces its origins to a meeting at the George Hotel in Huddersfield in 1895." with rugby league.

And the newsreader made up her own mind over the common name for scrivener's palsy - writer's cramp - to win £64,000 for Centrepoint.

Record release

The quiz special brought an end ITV's Day of Promise, organised to encourage viewers to record promises they aim to fulfil for themselves or their community on a national register.

Chris Tarrant: Quizmaster

While the promises were taken down over the phone for free, those willing to pledge £25 were being offered the chance to have their vows inscribed on one of more than 100 landmarks nationwide.

It was also set to coincide with the release of a 76-track Who Wants to be a Millionaire? album featuring the entire score from the top-rated quiz show, and a triple-A side CD single.

The single, called Is That Your Final Answer?, in reference to Tarrant's catchphrase from the show, features a radio edit, club version and special "Chris Tarrant mix".