Where is Who Wants To Be A Millionaire cheat Charles Ingram now - lost toes and posh home
Charles Ingram was helped by his wife, Diane, and Tecwen Whittock when he cheated his way to the £1million prize on ITV's Who Wants To Be a Millionaire.
Charles Ingram wins Who wants to be a Millionaire? in 2001
Charles Ingram made headlines for all the wrong reasons when he bagged the top prize of £1 million on Who Wants To Be a Millionaire back in 2001. At the time the former army major celebrated his win - knowing he wasn't actually deserving of it.
In a controversial scandal it soon came to light that Mr Ingram had cheated his way to the final question on the popular 90's quiz show, hosted by Chris Tarrant.
Ingram’s strategy was as simple as it was smart. Despite facing increasingly difficult questions, he consistently selected the correct answers, often appearing to guess or randomly choose.
It was only when producers reviewed the footage that they spotted something amiss. Eagle-eyed show bosses noticed a pattern of behaviour and it soon became clear that he wasn't acting alone in his cheating scheme.
Ingram’s wife Diana and a few friends, including accomplice Tecwen Whittock who was a future contestant, had coughed to indicate correct answers throughout the show. The discreet signal allowed Mr Ingram to cheat his way to victory.
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As a result the quiz show contestant never recieved his eye-watering prize. Instead, he faced criminal charges for fraud and was handed a 20-month suspended prison sentence, in a crown court trial in 2003.
He also became known as the ‘coughing major’ and was forced to resign from his commission. Whittock and Ingram's wife, Diana were both given 18-month suspended sentences for their part in the scam.
According to the Daily Mail, Charles is now living the very private life of a country gent on an estate owned by the Duke of Somerset. He is said to rent an annex to a 18th century farmhouse overlooking cattle sheds and grain barns in the village of Maiden Bradley on the border of Wiltshire and Somerset.
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While tending to his one-acre garden, the former contestant encountered more bad luck when he lost three of his toes in 2010. His three biggest toes on his left foot were ripped off through his Wellington boots by the steel blades of the petrol-powered lawnmower.
Neighbours have now said that Ingram, 60, always ‘seems busy’ but they have no idea of what he does for a living. However his wife, who he still lives with, continues to sell jewellery online.
Tecwen Whittock, involved in the same scandal, resigned from his lecturer position at Pontypridd College in Wales shortly after the trial and reportedly sold his Whitchurch home to cover fines and court costs.
