
Ratings eventually tanked, however, with most people pointing their fastest fingers at ABC for milking the show to the point of overexposure (at one point, it was aired four nights a week). The American version note which officially lacks a question mark in its title was a massive hit in the beginning, spawning a huge revival in game shows in general and big money, prime time quiz shows in particular (including many other imported shows). He also got a little good natured ribbing over the fact that he worked for the tax bureau. The first American winner famously did it without using a single lifeline in the process, with the exception of Phone-A-Friend which he only used to inform his father that he was about to win the Million. Ironically, the first-ever winner was a middle-aged woman who was already quite wealthy. A seventh, Charles Ingram, lost his money after it was proved that a friend gave him the answers by "strategic coughing" in a very famous case (a documentary about how the scam went down drew huge viewing figures, and the story was later the basis for a successful stage play which was adapted for television in 2020). See below for the changes in the US Shuffle format.īritain has had six top-prize winners to date five during the original 1998-2014 run, and one so far from the 2018 revival. The 2018 British revival added a twist to the second safety net by letting the contestant choose from the sixth question onwards whether they want to set the safety net at the next question or proceed (the first still remains at the 5-question mark). If they get an answer wrong, they lose their money, except for whatever was guaranteed. If they pass the 5- or 10-question mark (2- and 7- mark in the UK version from 2007-14), they are guaranteed to get that amount of money, even if they answer wrong on a later question.

Under the classic rules, the contestant can stop at any time and keep whatever money they've earned up to that point.
