ITV’s upcoming drama on the infamous Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? cheating scandal will cast doubt over the guilt of the three fraudsters, its star has said.
Charles Ingram, the so-called “Coughing Major”, was found guilty along with his wife Diana and their accomplice Tecwen Whittock of an elaborate ruse to cheat their way to the £1 million prize.
During a 2001 episode of the popular quiz show, Ingram, seated opposite host Chris Tarrant, would listen for coughs from university lecturer Whittock, steering him towards the correct answers.
All three were convicted of deception following a high-profile 2003 trial.
ITV will explore the scandal in a three-part drama titled Quiz, which is being adapted for TV from a play by James Graham.
The play asked audience members to reconsider their perceptions of the case and according to Sian Clifford, who plays Diana Ingram, the show will do the same.
The Fleabag actress told the Press Association news agency: “It’s showing another side of the story.
“It’s so fascinating because everyone thinks they’ve watched the episode but it never aired, this is the thing.”
Clifford said all that aired on the scandal was a documentary created by ITV and Celador, the production company that made the quiz show.
Airing two weeks after the court convictions were handed down, the documentary had left unanswered many questions about the trio’s guilt or innocence, Clifford said.
“And we’re going to be tugging with people’s allegiances and showing the human side to these people whose lives were completely decimated by this thing happening to them. And it still impacts them today,” she explained.
Clifford said she and her co-stars have met the accused, saying they are “very lovely” and she has a “huge amount of empathy” for them.
“I’m swinging towards innocent,” she said.
Clifford stars opposite Succession’s Matthew Macfadyen, who plays former British Army Major Ingram, while Michael Sheen plays ITV host Chris Tarrant.
Helen McCrory, Mark Bonnar and Aisling Bea will also star in the production, directed by Stephen Frears, whose credits include A Very English Scandal and The Queen.
Additional reporting by Press Association.
