It was back in April 2004 when a question on horseracing propelled Galway man Pat Gibson into the spotlight.
Appearing on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, the software developer was asked the million-pound question by host Christ Tarrant.
With two lifelines left, he left audiences on the edge of their seat to see what would happen next. After taking the plunge, Pat became the fourth contestant in the show's to get the final question right.
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Since then Pat has gone on to TV game show fame, appearing in iconic series such as Eggheads and Mastermind with huge success.
But it was his appearance on the UK version of 'Millionaire' that solidified his place in game show history. Tuesday July 19 marked Pat's birthday, as he turns 61 nearly two decades after his incredible game show milestone.
On his one million pound question, he still had his 50:50 and phone a friend (he had used the Ask-the-Audience lifeline on the £64,000 question).
The question put to Galway man Pat by host Chris Tarrant was: "Which of these is not one of the American Triple Crown horse races?"
Gibson, unsure, went to his lifelines, selecting the 50:50 option first.
B. "Belmont Stakes" and D. "Preakness Stakes" disappeared.
With A. "Arlington Million" and C. "Kentucky Derby" left, he then used his phone-a-friend option, phoning Mark Kerr (a highly ranked British quiz player and winner of TV's "Brainiest Estate Agent" title, as well as winner of £250,000 on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire) who said he was 90% sure the answer was Arlington Million, which was Pat's original instinct.
Gibson had acted as Kerr's phone-a-friend during his appearance on the show during the same series, broadcast weeks before Gibson's success. He correctly answered "Arlington Million" to win £1 million.
He became the fourth contestant in the United Kingdom to win £1,000,000. As of December 2018, he is the No. 1 ranked quizzer in the world.
He told Shortlist magazine: “The key aspect of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? was that you could not afford a single mistake when answering.
What surprised him when appearing on the show 16 years ago was the height of the chair - apparently a deliberate ploy to unsettle contestants. At one stage during his time on the seat, host Christ Tarrant called for an ad break and left the set.
Pat said: “This left me in a sort of limbo, not knowing my fate, with a tense crowd watching me, a solitary figure, with a slightly uncertain immediate future, perched centre-stage on a very high stool.
“It felt like a very long time."
Pat has gone on to serve as a Phone-a-Friend for Des O’Connor and Lee Mack and helped them reach £75,000.
He has amassed 25 international medals (7 gold, 11 silver and 7 bronze), the second highest total ever (behind Kevin Ashman with 27) and is ranked the second strongest player in the World/Europe.
In 2007 Gibson won the IQA World Quizzing Championship. In pairs competitions he partners Ian Bayley and they have won the British and European titles.
In 2010 Gibson won the IQA World Quizzing Championship achieving an all-time high score of 180/210, defeating both Kevin Ashman and Belgian Ronny Swiggers who tied at 169/210. Gibson retained the World Quizzing Championship title in 2011 with a score of 186/210, a 10-point margin over Kevin Ashman, and won again in 2013 with a score of 172/210.
Despite being originally from Ireland, Gibson competes for the England team.
Before stunning audiences on Millionaire , he appeared on Fastest Finger First on 28 February 2004, but didn’t get into the Hot Seat.
Growing up in Galway, he was a star pupil when it came to studying maths at school, and was a great atlas reader from a young age.
He studied engineering at NUIG and re-trained as a computer programmer, going on to work as a software developer for 20 years.
He moved to Wigan, Greater Manchester in the 1980s and has lived there in the many years since, however those familiar with his appearance on 'Millionaire' will notice he hasn't lost his Galway accent.
Pat Gibson is married to his wife Shelagh, and they have with two children, Elizabeth and Noah. In the past Pat has been dubbed "one of the world's smartest men".
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