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Sheridan Booth, a labourer from Hassocks, West Sussex, was a contestant on series 3 of the UK version of the show on 8-9 March, 1999. He walked away with £500, becoming only the second person ever, after Cheryl Turner on the 1998 Christmas special, to walk away on the first tier of questions. However, after the show's broadcast, he was discovered to be a criminal, having commited multiple crimes; thus rendering him ineligible to participate in the show. Therefore, his prize money, albeit small, was discarded.

WWTBAM Run[]

Fastest Finger First[]

Fastest Finger First Question
Starting with the earliest, put these four Chancellors of the Exchequer in order.
⬥ A: Norman Lamont ⬥ B: Gordon Brown
⬥ C: Harold Macmillan ⬥ D: Denis Healey
From the 10 starting contestants, 6 got it right, but Sheridan (with a time of 5.26 seconds) was the fastest to correctly answer C-D-A-B, making it into the Hot Seat.

Sheridan's Run to the Million[]

£100 (1 of 15) - Not Timed
What is tossed before a football match to decide which team kicks off?
⬥ A: Salad ⬥ B: Pancake
⬥ C: Coin ⬥ D: Ball
£200 (2 of 15) - Not Timed
What chemical is added to the water at swimming baths?
⬥ A: Salt ⬥ B: Sulphur
⬥ C: Chlorine ⬥ D: Ammonia
£300 (3 of 15) - Not Timed
Present day Pakistan and Bangladesh have both been part of which country?
'Phone-a-Friend' lifeline used
⬥ A: China ⬥ B: Russia
⬥ C: India ⬥ D: Iran
Sheridan decided to call his friend Teri, who was positive it was India. He decided to go with her and won £300.
£500 (4 of 15) - Not Timed
What might you be doing if you used a 'gambit'?
'Ask The Audience' and '50:50' lifelines used
⬥ A: Cooking ⬥ B: Gardening
⬥ C: Carving ⬥ D: Playing chess
Ask the Audience Results: A: 10% ⬥ B: 13% ⬥ C: 39% ⬥ D: 38%
Sheridan was not sure, so he used his Ask The Audience lifeline, with a 10-13-39-38 percent vote, Due to the tight result between C and D, he uses his 50-50 lifeline, which removes A and C, he then went with the audience, and won £500.

The klaxon then called time and Sheridan would return on £500 with no lifelines available.

£1,000 (5 of 15) - Not Timed
Which ex-Formula One driver presents 'Great Escapes' on ITV?
⬥ A: Mark Blundell ⬥ B: Nigel Mansell
⬥ C: Tony Jordan ⬥ D: Martin Brundle
Sheridan did not know the answer, and being out of lifelines, he decided to walk away with £500. The correct answer was D: Martin Brundle.

After the show's broadcast, he was discovered to be a criminal, committing hundreds of crimes; including drugs, theft, burglary, and even brutally killing his Golden Labrador puppy by kicking it down the stairs after it made a mess in his bedroom.

As a result Booth was stripped of his £500 and his name was disgraced, as he joined fellow criminals Neil Muir and Andrew Lavelle who both cheated their way in into their respective shows, for not having disclosed past criminal records.[1]

Trivia[]

  • Having had his prize money discarded, Cheryl Turner remains the only official £500 winner in the UK show's history.
  • This was the second straight controversy involving a contestant following Tony Kennedy, whose wrong answer to his £64,000 question was deemed correct.
  • Interestingly, the £100-£1,000 theme kept playing even after Sheridan decided to walk away and even after Chris told him the correct answer.

Sources[]

Preceded by
Tony Kennedy
UK Contestant (Series 3)
Sheridan Booth
Succeeded by
Eddie Holland
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