Quiz

Spread over the Easter weekend, this was ITV's dramatisation of events now almost twenty years old when the network's then flagship light entertainment quiz show (not a game show!) "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" was the at the centre of a cheating scandal revolving around a series of carefully choreographed coughing fits to guide the contestant Major Charles Ingram all the way through fifteen questions of increasing severity to the ultimate prize of £1,000,000. Once convinced that they'd apparently been duped, the show's production company Celador reported Ingram and his alleged accomplices, his wife Diana (much was made at the time of the couple coincidentally sharing the names of the Royal couple) and fellow-contestant Tecwen Whittock to the police and a criminal case was made against them. The trial made as many headlines as the original show when the couple (and Whittock who barely features in the action here, actually) were duly convicted but only given a Pyhrric suspended sentence so that the trio didn't have to go to jail, but obviously didn't collect their "Winnings", nevertheless left the trial in disgrace and out of pocket, leading to their bankruptcy when ordered to pay the legal costs of the trial. The Ingrams have pled their innocence ever since but at the same time haven't been above milking the publicity for financial reasons by appearing, for example, in other reality programmes since then.

So, did this programme find them guilty then? Apparently not. At no stage do the couple admit, even in private, that they're up to no good and the fact remains that the only strong "evidence" of any foul play against them is Diana's dodgy-seeming calls to Whittock immediately after Charles's inauspicious first night on the show (his appearance was made over two nights) and more pertinently, his decidedly odd behaviour in the chair as he abruptly changed at least two of his answers to the correct ones after seeming to completely rule them out.

This production revealed several interesting background points surrounding the original show which I either didn't know or had forgotten, including the fact that Diana and indeed her brother-in-law had already appeared in the show before Charles or that there was a network of what we'd now called hackers in the background offering their services to not only get people onto the show but to also usurp its procedures to win large sums of money for signed-up participants, with the claim being made that they were instrumental in helping hundreds of winners to win over 10% of all the show's prize-money down the years.

I'm not personally convinced the couple were so innocent. Before it was taken down from YouTube over the last couple of days, I was able to watch the offending episode in full where if anything Ingram's dithering and bumbling nature is even more pronounced. That said, how he'd decipher and interpret which cough to follow in a crowded TV studio seems like a risky game plan to me and he did go on to prove his intelligence by joining M.E.N.S.A. I think I'll go 50/50 on that one Chris.

This series entertainingly recreated the scandal with some fairly obvious dramatic licence (did for examp!e Ingram and the gung-ho Celador producer really cross swords, so to speak, in the gents toilet at the trial, I wonder!) and I suppose couldn't have asserted the Ingrams' guilt in any case, without attracting a libel charge against it. I felt the casting could have been better, with Matthew McFadyen bearing no physical resemblance at all to the real major, more's the pity when compared to Sian Clifford's marked similarity to his wife and of course the human chameleon Michael Sheene's take on show presenter Chris Tarrant.

Whilst admitting that the show could have conceivably taken a quite different viewpoint on the "did they or didn't they" question and so seemed like a bit of a cop-out in the end, it had enough going on in the background to sustain the entertainment over three nights. Or maybe I should rephrase that...

I tend to be always wary of things based on a true story. A mixture of fact and fiction often blurs the tedious factual parts with outlandish falsehoods to make the show more exciting as a whole. Therefore it can often be difficult to engage yourself to view it as fact as there are a large number of scenes which appear to be grandstanding for the viewers.

Despite the above, the series is actually an exciting drama with some occasional comedy moments. It's certainly worth a viewing. The acting itself appears great, however it's difficult to know how good the acting is considering we're unaware whether the actors are portraying the Ingrams directly or whether there have been things added.

The reason for the 7/10 is not due to the production, excitement or directing, it is due to the script. I am slightly perplexed as to why the script has been written to feel empathy towards Charles Ingram. Although the wife was responsible for pushing Charles, he has surprisingly been made to look the innocent party, this is despite Charles committing insurance fraud before the quiz show fraud. So why has the script been written to make us feel empathetic?

Overall the show is well worth the watch. It's exciting, gripping and interesting. Would really recommend, however most certainly take everything with a pinch of salt - it's not all fact!

The best ... or worst ... about this was Sheen's masterful portrayal of the awful Tarrant with all his smugness, witless, often embarrassing comments to and about competitors and partners and his dreadful contorted facials. He eventually made the show unwatchable for me. Well done Sheen for an accurate portrayal of this staggeringly overrated unpleasant presenter.

Though I let it pass me by when it aired, it's appearance on the Guardian's "TV of the year" list led to me giving "Quiz" a try. Though I accept people's frustration that the series doesn't want to prescribe guilt to its famous couple, in and of itself it's in interesting insight to the levels of manipulation seemingly innocuous and trustworthy institutions can fall foul too.

When the UK television production company Celador arrive at an idea for a new gameshow, they couldn't have predicted the unprecedented success that the show would be. "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" would become an worldwide phenomenon, but with their high profile, and the considerable prize on offer, inventive groups found a way to bend the show to their advantage. Into this, Major Charles Ingram (Matthew Macfadyen) follows his wife and brother-in-law into the hotseat, but unlike them he win's the top prize. However, accusations of cheating, particularly a conspiracy with coughing members of the audience, follow soon after.

Though the story clearly gets some people enraged, if it was 100% a work of fiction then it would be judged as a slightly farfetched but truly enjoyable miniseries. The performances are good, not just from the main cast but from numerous supporting performers like Helen McCrory, Aisling Bea, Elliot Levey and Nicholas Woodeson. Macfadyen and Sian Clifford do a great job of keeping the Ingram's as slightly odd but not unlikeable, which helps sell the indecision about their guilt. Personally, I didn't like this Michael Sheen impression as much as I have done some of the others, I don't feel he caught Chris Tarrant as well as he did Brian Clough, or Tony Blair. Some aspects of the story are really fascinating, not so much the actual Ingram saga, as the levels of manipulation that the show suffered. It suggests that a small but organised group of people managed to influence who made it onto the show and abused the phone-a-friend aspect.

As mentioned, the show works very hard to provide what might be considered a balanced view, which I suppose is noble, but betrays the truth somewhat. Though the Ingram's maintain their innocence and the show presents a very strong argument for them, they were found guilty by a jury, and fairly quickly too. As a report of history, I'd accept that the show is questionable - but as entertainment I'd say just ask the audience.

It's good but don't expect a biopic or gripping drama. This is basically a little bit of a laugh that successfully takes the story and turns it in every way possible. It's inaccurate and there are a few moments where it seems like you're watching Mr Bean but it's good fun. Sheen is uncanny as Tarrant.