Charles Ingram’s life changed forever when he won Who Wants To Be A Millionaire – but not in the way he hoped or expected.
The father-of-three thought he had got away with winning the greatest prize in television when he received that £1million cheque from host Christ Tarrant in September 2001.
However, his joy was short-lived when he was arrested just days later and accused of cheating alongside his wife Diana.
Diana and fellow quizzer Tecwen Whittock were accused of coughing every time Charles read out the correct answer, which explain his erratic behaviour and risk taking on question he clearly didn’t know the answers to.
They found themselves in the dock 18 months after the historic win, but have always denied the allegations.
Charles and Diana were found guilty of “procuring the execution of a valuable security by deception”, received 18 month sentences each, suspended for two years, and each fined a whopping £15,000.
They were also ordered to pay £10,000 towards prosecution costs, which was later increased to £65,000, so the whole saga cost them a massive £115,000.
Their story is being revisited on tonight’s special ITV show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: The Million Pound Question.
Current host Jeremy Clarkson is joined by former presenter Tarrant, who admitted he had no idea anything was wrong at the time, to recount their memories of Charles’ unforgettable journey to the million pound question.
But what happened to the Ingrams after they were rumbled?
(Image: PA)
They made an immediate return to ITV to plead their innocence on This Morning in April 2003.
Phillip Schofield told the couple they should accept it ruined their reputations, co-operate with the authorities and admit they did wrong.
“We didn’t cheat on that show. We didn’t plan to cheat on that show. I won that money perfectly honestly, fairly and squarely,” said Charles.
“And while I was sitting there in the centre of the studio I didn’t notice any coughing at all. I was entirely unaware of it.” As for the victims. I’ve heard a lot of people say, ‘This is a victimless crime’.
“Actually there are three victims. We should never have been found guilty based on the evidence in court. We were found guilty on a very good story.
“Pieces of a jigsaw crammed in together, ill-fitting and pieces were missing and cracks papered over.”
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The Coughing Major, who had 17 years of service under his belt, was given the boot from the armed forces.
The couple lost friends over the scandal, with some people going out of their way to avoid them, while other supposed pals sold quotes from conversations.
They were abused in the street by members of the public and, most shockingly of all, their pets were attacked.
Speaking to BBC News in 2007, Charles said: “Our dog was kicked and punched by six youths and subsequently died.
“Our cat was shot with an air pistol.”
Many thought that the couple would lay low for a while, but they were soon back on our screens.
(Image: Channel 4)
The Ingrams agreed to take part in an episode of the reality TV show, Wife Swap, alongside another famous couple.
They hoped it would go some way to restore their public image, with Charles confessing he wanted to set the record straight and prove “I’m not a thicko and Diana’s not Lady Macbeth”.
Charles lived with late Big Brother star Jade Goody, while her then partner Jeff Brazier spent the week with Diana.
Jade announced she didn’t like “liars or people with chips on their shoulders”, something that is said to have infuriated Charles, who insisted he “worked his socks off” to make the reality star feel uncomfortable.
Friction was evident from the outset with Jade describing Charles as “controlling” and accusing him of failing to do anything round the house.
She said: “He was very irritating, very controlling, and he kept talking about how he did a lot round the house, but he never did anything to help me.”
After four days of awkwardness Jade and Charles have a blazing row and it finally cleared the air.
(Image: Channel 4)
Surprisingly, the Ingrams seemed to enjoy being in the limelight and were back on another TV quiz show just five years after the Millionaire scandal.
It became clear that Charles and Diana agreed to appear on the game show with one intention in mind – to promote their debut book.
The uncomfortable clip sees the couple’s introduction interrupted by a fit of coughing from mocking audience members as Charles tells, “I’m here to promote my first Thriller : The Network.
Diana follows suit as she explains: “Hi, I’m Diana, and I’m here to plug my husbands book!”.
They appeared alongside stars including John McCririck, his wife Jenny McCririck, Strictly’s Anton Du Beke and Two Pints of Lager actors Will Mellor and Ralf Little.
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The most gruesome thing to happen to Charles is slicing off three of his toes in a freak gardening accident.
Back in 2010, Charles slipped on a rotten apple as he was mowing his one-acre garden.
The three biggest toes on his left foot were ripped off through his Wellington boots by the steel blades of the petrol-powered mower.
“I was only wearing Wellingtons and it sliced right through the rubber,” said Charles.
“I remember seeing my big toe lying on the grass and thinking, ‘oh dear’.”
“I got up and managed to shuffle down to the front of the garden.”
A customer had just come to the house to collect a laptop he had repaired rang for an ambulance and Charles underwent two operations.
(Image: PA)
Since their conviction, the Ingrams have been declared bankrupt four times.
And now the couple have turned to a very unusual scheme to stay afloat – selling jewellery made by Diana at market stalls.
The Ingrams have been pedalling their creations at markets for several years, with them pictured working on a market stall in Somerset back in 2016.
They were spotted selling the homemade creations in Bath late last year with both Charles and Diana manning the stall together.
One onlooker described it as “quite a comedown” – with the pieces they were selling cost between £5 and £40.
The Ingram’s story became headline news once again last year with the release of ITV series Quiz.
*Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: The Million Pound Question airs tonight on ITV at 9pm
Originally from https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/charles-ingram-after-millionaire-scandal-23266565