Shropshire Star

Shropshire 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?' contestant cleared of cheating in new book

The man dubbed the "Coughing Major" after being found guilty of cheating on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? may well be innocent after all, according to a new book.

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Charles Ingram, who was educated in Shropshire, gained notoriety after he won the jackpot on the popular television game show in 2001.

But his victory was short-lived after he was accused of cheating and a court ruled that he had answered his questions correctly thanks to a participant coughing on cue to alert him to right answer – despite Mr Ingram maintaining that luck, military training and strategy had helped him answer the winning question.

Now a new book claims to have found unseen evidence that casts doubt on Ingram's guilty conviction.

Charles Ingram celebrates winning £1m on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

Mr Ingram, who was privately educated at Oswestry School in Shropshire, was found guilty in the spring of 2003 along with his wife Diana and fellow game show devotee Tecwen Whittock, who were both in the studio, of procuring the execution of a valuable security by deception.

The Ingrams were sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment suspended for two years, while Whittock received a 12-month suspended sentence.

The new book, titled Bad Show: The Quiz, the Cough, the Millionaire Major, argues that there were over 190 coughs during the programme, some of which were inconsistent.

The book also told how even Chris Tarrant, the show's presenter, was initially "flabbergasted" by the accusations, how a manager who was not present at the recording was called as a prosecution witness, and questioned why the programme's tape was not handed into police until nearly a year after the recording. The book said that the game show ruined Ingram's life but that there is no evidence to suggest he had ever been in touch with his supposed accomplice.

Ingram is now settled in Wiltshire and helps his wife sell handmade jewellery on a crafts stall.

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