Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? 2024 saw the iconic quiz show returning for its 39th series, with Jeremy Clarkson hosting once more.
“I genuinely adore quiz shows. Blockbusters, The Weakest Link, Pointless. So to be hosting it still is literally a dream come true," he recently told The Times.
Filmed in February 2023, the latest run of episodes was meant to air last year but got delayed to make room for coverage of the Rugby World Cup, but it was a staple of ITV's Sunday night schedule since the series premiered at the end of January 2024. And whilst the show has come to an end, the team have promised they'll be back for more quizzing later in the year!
Here's everything you need to know about the latest series of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? 2024 release date
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? returned at 8 pm on ITV1 on Sunday, January 28, right after Dancing on Ice 2024.
New episodes aired in the same slot every week... apart from when the show skipped a week when Super Bowl 2024 and more Six Nations 2024 rugby were on the cards.
Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? 2024 returned to its usual slot on February 18, with new episodes following the same release pattern through to episode 7, the final episode of the series.
And that’s it for this series, we’ll see you later in the year for more #WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire, but for now, #Goodnight pic.twitter.com/nPm7yqGSl8March 17, 2024
Who hosted Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? 2024?
As mentioned, Jeremy Clarkson returned to host Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? 2024, although whether there will be further series is unclear.
Last year, it was reported that Clarkson had been axed as the who Wants to Be a Millionaire? host, with ITV boss Carolyn McCall stating at the time that they had "no future commitments" with Clarkson planned after recording this latest series.
"We have a contract. We're contracted to this [season], so we will do that", McCall said at the time. "And then we have no future commitments. And we haven't made any statements about that." (in an interview with Variety).
A subsequent ITV statement read: "As we have said for several weeks, ITV is contractually committed to a further series of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? (which has now been recorded).
"There are no further commissioning commitments beyond that currently as is typical with such shows where we make commissioning decisions on a series-by-series basis. There, for the avoidance of doubt neither Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? nor Jeremy Clarkson have been cancelled."
Around the same time the reports went out, Clarkson tweeted that he had "not been sacked as host of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire".
So many kind messages about today’s reports. But relax. Lisa and I have not split up and I have not been sacked as host of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.March 1, 2023
Has anyone bagged the top prize on Clarkson's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire yet?
Yes! So far, one person has managed to claim the top prize during Clarkson's tenure as the host. Donald Fear, a teacher from Telford managed to win the full £1 million jackpot in 2020.
Ahead of that series of the show, Clarkson said: "Well, I'm absolutely thrilled and delighted that we've found someone who seems to know just about everything. I can't wait for the viewers to see it and I want to watch it back too. I was just in awe of this contestant and think they are probably the best the show has ever had in its 22-year history. It was a joy to sit and watch it unfold.”
Fear's win makes him the sixth person to bag the top prize overall (for the UK format). His Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? victory also saw him outperforming his brother, Davyth, who'd walked away with £500,000 in 2019.
The biggest win from the new series so far came in the third episode, when Rebecca Howe concluded her run with a £250,000 win. Gerard Crowley matched Rebecca's £250,000 in the sixth episode of the series, but none of this batch of contestants managed to go any further.
How does Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? work?
If you've not come across the show before, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? is a long-running game show that gives ordinary people the chance to win a life-changing sum of money.
Contestants sit down across from our host and are tasked with answering 15 multiple-choice general knowledge questions, with each getting them one step closer to that colossal £1 million grand prize. If they run into some bits of tricky trivia, they can always opt to use one of their lifelines (50:50, Phone a Friend, Ask the Host and Ask the Audience) to hopefully make their decision a little easier.
Is there a trailer?
Whilst a Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? 2024 trailer wasn't released, ITV did put out a round-up of the best moments from the previous series to whet appetites ahead of the show's return.
