Tecwen Whittock, a college lecturer from Cardiff, was a contestant on series 10 of the UK version of the show on 15 September, 2001. He walked away with £1,000 after incorrectly answering his £8,000 question. Whittock first appeared on Fastest Finger First on 19 April, 2001, but didn't make to the hot seat.
He was later found guilty of helping Charles Ingram in his road to £1,000,000 by using coded coughs to direct Charles to most of the correct answers. Charles' wife Diana Ingram was also found guilty. Notably, Whittock helped guide Ingram to the £1,000,000 prize, but once Whittock himself got into the hot seat, he had no one else to help guide him to the £1,000,000 prize, and he wound up leaving with only £1,000 after flunking out on the £8,000 question.
He was portrayed by Michael Jibson in the Charles Ingram cheating scandal dramatized series Quiz.
WWTBAM Run[]
Fastest Finger First[]
Fastest Finger First Question | |
Starting with the lowest, put these sporting numbers in order, as featured in a standard game. | |
⬥ A: Golf course holes | ⬥ B: Cricket pitch stumps |
⬥ C: Red balls in snooker | ⬥ D: Netball team players |
From the 10 contestants, 5 got it right, but Tecwen (with a time of 7.08 seconds) was the fastest to correctly answer B-D-C-A, making it into the Hot Seat.
Tecwen's Run to the Million[]
£100 (1 of 15) - Not Timed | |
Which of these words means 'nonsense'? | |
⬥ A: Pilchardsclout | ⬥ B: Codswallop |
⬥ C: Troutsthump | ⬥ D: Halibutsclobber |
£200 (2 of 15) - Not Timed | |
Which of these is a nautical term? | |
⬥ A: Harsh | ⬥ B: Severe |
⬥ C: Stern | ⬥ D: Strict |
£300 (3 of 15) - Not Timed | |
With which annual event is Notting Hill in London most associated? | |
⬥ A: Carnival | ⬥ B: Flower show |
⬥ C: Circus | ⬥ D: Dog show |
£500 (4 of 15) - Not Timed | |
What nationality is the singer Charles Aznavour? | |
⬥ A: French | ⬥ B: German |
⬥ C: Spanish | ⬥ D: Greek |
£1,000 (5 of 15) - Not Timed | |
Which of these sports is played with a round ball? | |
⬥ A: American football | ⬥ B: Rugby union |
⬥ C: Association football | ⬥ D: Australian Rules football |
£2,000 (6 of 15) - Not Timed | |
Which of these is a Star Wars character? 'Ask the Audience' lifeline used | |
⬥ A: Babba the Shedd | ⬥ B: Fabba the Kabbin |
⬥ C: Jabba the Hutt | ⬥ D: Gabba the Shak |
Ask the Audience Results: A: 3% ⬥ B: 2% ⬥ C: 90% ⬥ D: 5% |
£4,000 (7 of 15) - Not Timed | |
In which children's story does an American boy discover he is the heir of an English earl? | |
⬥ A: The Secret Garden | ⬥ B: Little Lord Fauntleroy |
⬥ C: The Hobbit | ⬥ D: The Wind in the Willows |
£8,000 (8 of 15) - Not Timed | |
In Greek cookery, what are 'keftedes'? 'Phone-a-Friend' and '50:50' lifelines used | |
⬥ A: Meatballs | ⬥ B: Braised aubergines |
⬥ C: Pureed chickpeas | ⬥ D: Sweet pastries |
Tecwen did not know the answer and says cookery is one of his weak subjects, so he phoned his friend Carol, who said D: Sweet pastries, but she was only guessing and wasn't really sure. Tecwen then used his '50:50' lifeline, which left A: Meatballs and D: Sweet pastries. Tecwen decided to play and went for D: Sweet pastries, but this was incorrect and he lost £3,000. The correct answer was A: Meatballs.
Total Prize Money: £1,000 |
Charles Ingram scandal[]
He was later found guilty of helping Charles Ingram in his road to £1,000,000 by using coded coughs to direct Charles to most of the correct answers. Charles' wife Diana Ingram was also found guilty. Notably, Whittock helped guide Ingram to the £1,000,000 prize. Between the two days of filming, it is reported that Diana made contact with future contestant Tecwen Whittock to plan how to help Charles win £1 million. On the second day of filming, Charles entered saying he had a strategy for playing the rest of the game.
When he took the stand at the trial, Whittock put his coughing down to hay fever and a dust allergy, saying it was a coincidence the coughs coincided with the correct answers. When asked why his cough apparently disappeared when he played his game of Millionaire straight afterwards, he said he drank several glasses of water in the intermission. He recalled that Tarrant had said to him before filming "Don't forget to drink your water and use your lifelines."Following this, Whittock's doctor and a number of his friends took to the stand and affirmed Whittock had a persistent cough and that drinking water did help relieve it. He also stated that the phone call between his and Diana's phones lasted less than five minutes. The defence questioned why Whittock would agree to such a quickly devised scheme, particularly as he might cough involuntarily at any time.
Following the trial, the Ingrams were sentenced to an 18-month suspended sentence and Whittock to one of 12 months. Whittock resigned from his lecturer's job at Pontypridd College and trademarked his name to prevent a company from naming a cough medicine after him. The trademark expired in 2013 and was declared "dead" in 2014 after not being renewed.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Before his Millionaire appearance, he had also been on Sale of The Century, Fifteen To One, The People Versus and Brain of Britain (radio).
Sources[]
Preceded by Darren Caunt |
UK Contestant (Series 10) Tecwen Whittock |
Succeeded by John Norton |