For years they've been seen as quiz show criminals. A new TV series may change that
Writer James Graham seeks to understand modern British history through TV, including “Brexit,” “The Crown” and AMC’s new game show cheating drama, “Quiz.”The three-episode limited series was designed to ensure ambiguity.
The first two episodes, which showcase the development of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” and the Ingrams’ trajectory on the show, lean in the direction of “Yep, they did it.” It’s the third episode, which reveals the trial, that questions that assertion. For Frears, as well as stars Matthew Macfadyen and Sian Clifford , the goal was to build tension through uncertainty.“You want the viewer to make a decision and then reverse it,” says Frears. “That was where the pleasure lay …. It was trying to hold that line. It was about whether [the Ingrams] did or didn’t do it, and how fair could you be to everybody — to Celador as well as to the Ingrams.” “We sat on set and pontificated about what really happened,” Macfadyen adds. “Because you don’t know. But ultimately you’re just playing little moments in the story. Stephen would say, ‘OK, now let’s do a really guilty take’ or do a different reading of a line so they could have fun in the cutting room …. It’s broadly sympathetic in the way it’s written, so I just played it straight and truthfully. You allow the viewers to project whatever they want to project onto you, rather than the other way around.” Graham brought in additional context to the miniseries, including how a network of fans around the U.K. created “the Consortium,” a syndicate of people who gamed the system to get in the hot seat on “Millionaire.” The Ingrams weren’t the only ones trying to cheat their way into game show winnings, although they were the only contestants who were convicted of an actual crime. “We knew some of it,” admits Chris Tarrant, the former host of “Millionaire,” who is portrayed in the series by Michael Sheen. “[The Consortium] just had a system, like people have systems for horse racing. We didn’t seem to be able to stop it because they weren’t actually breaking the law. They would just show up and play. They became obsessed with it.”The series also includes the Ingrams’ court defense, which is emphasized in the third episode. For Graham, offering new evidence is about giving the viewer an opportunity to reexamine the case. And, in fact, many viewers in the U.K. spoke out on Twitter about reversing their opinion after finishing the series. “One of the pieces of evidence for the defense that most of the public won’t know is that the guy who was accused of coughing on the right answers has a medically diagnosed, uncontrollable cough,” says Graham. “He has an asthmatic condition that was proven in court. One of the questions you might ask is, if you were planning a heist where you have to cough at very strategic times in a very clear pattern, would you select somebody who can’t actually control when they’re going to cough?” “I absolutely believe it’s nowhere near as cut and dry as it was presented in the press, in the court or in the public’s mind,” Graham adds, though he won’t personally speculate on whether the Ingrams are innocent or guilty. “There are lots of uncertainties. And the majority of the evidence is completely circumstantial, so it requires a leap of faith to find them guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.”
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