A contestant on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? walked away with £500,000 after being stumped by the £1,000,000 question. Andrew Fanko, 44, reached the final hurdle on Sunday night’s episode of the ITV show but could not identify the correct EGOT winner.
Question and Options
The million-pound question was: 'Which of these is an EGOT winner, meaning they have won each of the four major entertainment awards — an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony?' The four options were Lin-Manuel Miranda, Cher, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Bette Midler.
Fanko, uncertain of the answer, used his 'Ask the Audience' lifeline. The audience split their votes: 32% chose Andrew Lloyd Webber and 36% selected Bette Midler. Rather than risk losing his winnings, Fanko decided to bow out with the half a million pounds he had already secured.
'I will very, very gratefully take my half a million pounds please which sounds unbelievable,' he told host Jeremy Clarkson. 'And that is my final answer.'
Correct Answer Revealed
The correct answer was Andrew Lloyd Webber. The legendary composer has won six Tony Awards, three Grammy Awards and an Oscar for best original song for 'You Must Love Me' from the 1996 adaptation of Evita. He achieved EGOT status in 2018 after winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Special (Live) for Jesus Christ Superstar Live In Concert.
Bette Midler has Emmy, Grammy and Tony awards but has never won an Oscar, despite two nominations for best actress. Cher has yet to win a Tony award, and Lin-Manuel Miranda has no Oscars despite two nominations.
Viewer Reactions
While Fanko chose not to gamble, viewers on social media suggested the question was relatively easy for that stage of the quiz. 'That’s the second straight million pound question where I’ve personally known the answer,' one person commented. Another added: 'Knew that was Lloyd-Webber.'
Fanko's Plans
Despite missing out on the top prize, Fanko, who had hoped to win enough to take his wife and six-year-old daughter to Disneyland, said he felt 'incredibly privileged' to walk away with half a million. 'It will make a huge difference to my family,' he told ITV. 'Once I saw the £1 million question, I knew I wasn’t going to play it. That actually made it a lovely moment just sitting there knowing I was going home with half a million pounds.'
