Millionaire Quiz Show Scandal Ripe For Film

[Brett Ferino]

LONDON (Hollywood Reporter) - The British producer of 'Who Wants To Be a Millionaire is developing a film about a recent cheating scandal on the hit quiz show.

The project is expected to be a comedy of errors detailing the obsessions, rivalries and high hopes of the real-life contestants Major Charles Ingram, his wife, Diana, and college lecturer Tecwen Whittock.

Last month, all three were found guilty in a London court of cheating their way to the show's jackpot using a series of coughed signals to identify the correct answers.

Celador Films, the movie arm of 'Millionaire' producer Celador Prods., has signed British TV writer Russell T. Davies ('Queer as Folk') to pen the screenplay.

'We have no wish to vilify the Ingrams or Mr. Whittock, and now that the court case is over, there is a wonderfully funny and engaging story to be told,' said Celador Films chairman Paul Smith.

'Like most people in Britain and around the world, I have been riveted by the unfolding story of this bizarre, doomed and oddly endearing escapade,' Davies added. 'I have always loved tales of hairbrained eccentrics, and I am having enormous fun working on this story.'

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter