Quiz (play)

Quiz is written by British playwright James Graham.^[2] The play centres around the true story of Charles Ingram (who later came to be known as "the Coughing Major")^[3] and the coughing scandal that surrounded his 2001 win of £1,000,000 on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and the subsequent court trial.^[4]

Charles Ingram, a major in the British Army, entered British quiz show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? in September 2001. Suspicions arose during filming after coughing was heard loudly adjacent to the correct answers. A sound technician informed Celador CEO Paul Smith of their suspicions, with filming allowed to continue and the tapes reviewed after filming had completed.^[5] Ingram eventually won the million pounds,^[5] however upon reviewing the tapes and each cough heard, Ingram was accused of cheating by having his wife, Diana, and an accomplice, Tecwen Whittock, cough as Ingram announced the correct answer from the available choices.^[5][6][7] Ingram "refuted" the claims.^[5]

Following trial on 7 April 2003, a jury declared the Ingrams and Whittock guilty of procuring the execution of a valuable security by deception.^[8] The Ingrams were sentenced to an 18-month suspended sentence and a fine of £15,000 plus £10,000 for costs each. Whittock received a 12-month suspended sentence with a £10,000 fine plus a £7,500 costs order.^[9]

Graham was a teenager when Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? first appeared on British television in 1998^[10] and became "fixated" by the subsequent trial and what he describes as the most "British crime in the history of the world."^[11] He later received a copy of the 2015 book Bad Show: The Quiz, the Cough, the Millionaire Major.^[10] It raised questions about the case and raised the possibility that Ingram was innocent of all charges^[12] and forms the basis of which Quiz was adapted.^[13] In February 2017,^[14] it was announced the play would premiere at the Minerva Theatre, part of the Chichester Festival Theatre.^[15] The play is directed by Daniel Evans,^[16] with movement direction by Naomi Said,^[17] design by Robert Jones,^[18] lighting design by Tim Lutkin,^[18] video design by Tim Reid^[19] and music and sound design by Ben and Max Ringham.^[18]

In 2019, filming began on a three-part TV series of the same name for ITV adapted from the play (written by and executive produced by Graham) to air in 2020, directed by Stephen Frears and starring Michael Sheen as Chris Tarrant, Matthew Macfadyen as Charles Ingram, Sian Clifford as Diana Ingram and Michael Jibson as Tecwen Whittock.^[36] The series is produced by Alice Pearse, and executive produced by Dan Winch, William Village, James Graham, Stephen Frears and Andy Harries.^[37]