Who is Charles Ingram? Where the 'coughing major' from Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? is now

Major Ingram was at the heart of one of British TV's most infamous scandals 
PA
Kimberley Bond13 April 2020

It was the scandal that rocked the nation back in 2001 – a man, who was the third person at the time to walk away with the top prize, was accused of cheating on the UK’s most popular quiz show, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?.

Major Charles Ingram never took away his prize money, after it was alleged that his wife Diana, who was in the audience, and his fellow contestant Tecwen Whittock were part of a ploy to win the money by coughing to signal the correct answers.

The events that followed are now the subject of new ITV drama Quiz, which is airing over three consecutive nights from today.

Here’s everything you need to know about Charles Ingram, the man at the heart of the coughing scandal...

Who is Charles Ingram?

Charles and Diana Ingram outside Southwark Crown Court in April 2003
Scott Barbour/Getty Images

Born in 1963 in Derbyshire, Ingram joined the Combined Cadet Force while at school and, after completing a degree at Kingston University, trained for the British Army at Sandhurst in 1986. He was promoted to the rank of Major in 1995.

Ingram married wife Diana in 1989. The pair have three children.

When did Charles Ingram appear on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

On the 9th and 10th September in 2001, Ingram took the famous hot seat opposite Chris Tarrant after winning the fastest finger first round. He was the third member of the family to make it to the chair, after wife Diana, and brother-in-law Adrian Pollock had both tried their luck at the quiz, pocketing £32,000 each.

When filming wrapped on his first day, the Major was on shaky ground having struggled through the easier questions and used his lifelines.

It was on day two that he aroused suspicion from the production company as he flip-flopped between answers, sometimes electing an answer he previously claimed to have never heard of before.

The production company was alerted to a number of coughs coming from Tecwen Whittock, a fellow contestant in the audience.

Who is Tecwen Whittock?

The father-of-four was a business lecturer working at Pontypridd College in Wales, who was forced to quit the position he had held for 25 years after the coughing scandal triggered a disciplinary hearing.

At trial, Whittock was portrayed as a quiz show veteran, having previously appeared on Sale of the Century and 15 to 1.

He also claimed his innocence, saying he had suffered from a persistent cough his entire life and that a dust allergy and hayfever triggered coughing in the studio. Whittock was found guilty and received a 12 month prison sentence suspended for two years, and was fined £10,000 with £7,500 costs.

What happened to Charles Ingram at the trial?

Both Ingram and his wife Diana were also found guilty and convicted with a majority verdict of "procuring the execution of a valuable security by deception" in 2003. They were both given an 18 month sentence, suspended for two years and fined £15,000 each, plus additional legal costs of £10,000.

Two months later, the Ingrams were told to pay more - £40,000 for Charles and £25,000 for Diana - bringing their total legal expenses up to £115,000 (after later appeals, the costs were eventually brought down to £5,000 each).

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What happened to Charles Ingram after the trial?

Ingram was convicted of an unrelated insurance fraud in 2003, and was ordered to resign his commission as a major by the Army Board.

Taking advantage of his newfound infamy, Ingram appeared on several reality TV shows, including The Games, a celeb version of The Weakest Link and Wife Swap, which saw Diana exchanged for Jade Goody.

He also wrote two novels: The Network, published in 2006, and Deep Siege, published in 2007.

In more recent times, the pair have since moved out from their Wiltshire home, with wife Diana now selling homemade jewellery. According to the Sun, Ingram has declared himself bankrupt four times.

Who plays Charles Ingram in Quiz?

Ingram is played by Succession's Matthew Macfayden in the ITV drama.

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