Who Wants to Be a Millionaire cheating scandal to be made into ITV drama

When Charles Ingram cheated his way to one million pounds on the quiz show Who Wants to be a Millionaire? almost 20 years ago it went down as the greatest scandal in UK TV history.

Now the broadcaster where the impropriety took place will air a drama series recounting the events.

Matthew Macfadyen will play Ingram, the former Army major who won the top prize in 2001, with Michael Sheen cast as Chris Tarrant, the show’s host.

Fleabag actress Sian Clifford will play Ingram’s wife Diana.

The game show originally ran between 1998 and 2014 and saw contestants answer a series of multiple-choice questions to win cash prizes.

The Ingrams, with the help of university lecturer Tecwen Whittock, used coughing signals to direct him to the right answers.

Following the show when ITV bosses discovered the fraud the three faced a trial and were found guilty of cheating.

Ingram and his wife were sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for two years, and each fined £15,000 and ordered to pay £10,000 costs.

While Whittock was sentenced to 12 months, suspended for two years, and ordered to pay £7,500 in costs

Helen McCrory, Mark Bonnar and Aisling Bea will also star in the production, based on the hit West End play - Quiz - written by James Graham.

The playwright said: "I was gripped by this story over 15 years ago, and I'm still gripped now. It's a very English heist."