Millionaire major's 'military plan'

Millionaire major's 'military plan'

Mr and Mrs Ingram deny the charges

An Army major accused of cheating his way to the £1m prize on quiz show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? told police he won the prize fairly by imagining he was on a military mission.

Major Charles Ingram, 39, and his wife Diana, 38, were arrested on 22 November 2001 at their home near Devizes, Wiltshire.

Along with lecturer Tecwen Whittock, from Cardiff, they are accused of conspiracy to "dishonestly procure the execution of a valuable security" - namely the quiz show's £1m jackpot prize.

During a police interview read out during the trial at London's Southwark Crown Court, Mr Ingram said his inspiration was the Army's way of dealing with resources.

"I decided I would have to do everything I could to get to the £1m," he explained after his arrest.

"That meant taking calculated risks, weighing up the answers, and taking account of the risks just as I'd have to do in the Army."

Strategy

The trial at Southwark Crown Court in London heard that the Royal Engineers officer and his wife were interviewed by police several weeks after his appearance on the popular ITV quiz show in September 2001.

In the interview, Mr Ingram sad: "You never have enough resources in the Army.

Chris said 'Is that your final answer?' and then I heard the audience gasp

Major Charles Ingram

Click here for major's route to Millionaire prize

"You decide to limit the risks to achieve the mission.

"That is exactly what I did that night."

Mr Ingram said his "strategy" involved "taking his time" to consider the four possible answers offered on each question.

"The money was secondary to trying to answer the question," he said.

Mr Ingram, who had been on the show once before getting through to the "hot seat", added:

"I looked at each of the answers, tried as best I could to delete answers that were too ridiculous and weigh up the options on the remaining answers and if I felt 80% confident, or more, on a particular answer, I would go for it."

Audience clue

Case officer Detective Sergeant Ian Williamson asked the defendant how he dealt with questions that he was "clearly" not 80% sure about.

Mr Ingram said there was only one question when he had been forced to take a "blind guess".

Chris Tarrant was shocked at the allegations

He said that had been the £32,000 question, which asked: "Who had the hit UK album called Born To Do It, in 2000?"

Out of the four possible answers, the major said that his first inclination was to go for the "A1" option as he had not heard of the other three: Coldplay, Toploader and Craig David.

"I really didn't have a clue, so I said 'A1'," said the major.

"Chris (Tarrant) said 'Is that your final answer?' and then I heard the audience gasp.

"That made me think I was possibly wrong... so I went for the 20% answer and that was the right answer."

Mr Ingram, who was a rollover contestant after winning £4,000 on the first night of recording, was also asked about the £500,000 question - "Baron Haussmann is best known for his planning for which city?"

Hesitation

He said his apparent hesitation in answering Paris was because he "wanted to appear as if I was doing something on television" and to prevent Mr Tarrant from interrupting.

Mr Ingram also told the court how he was encouraged to try and get on the show after his wife and his brother-in-law, Adrian Pollock both won £32,000 on the show.

The court heard that the major helped Mr Pollock and his sister write a book about how to maximise the chances of being selected as a contestant.

Mr Ingram went on to explain that the basic method involved making as many calls to the show's premium rate phone number on the first day that lines opened for a new series, rather than spread them out.

The major also revealed he would watch the show and try his skill during the Fastest Finger First round, with the help of a mock-up key pad resting on his knee.

Asked whether he followed his own contribution to the book recommending 10 to 20 minutes' practice a day, he replied: "I think the book was stretching it a bit."

Prize withheld

Mr Ingram, his wife and Mr Whittock all deny the charges against them.

The prosecution claim Mr Ingram was guided to the right answers in his £1m win by strategic coughing by Mr Whittock.

Programme-makers Celador withheld the £1m and decided not to broadcast the episode featuring Mr Ingram.

The defence case is expected to start next week.

Mr Ingram has also launched civil proceedings to recover the £1m.

The trial continues.