Since Who Wants to Be a Millionaire first aired on ITV over two decades ago, it has been every quiz head’s dream to sit in the iconic hot seat, slowly working their way up the prize money ladder in the hopes of winning that huge jackpot.
While hundreds of thousands of people have applied over the years, only a handful have made it on the show – but with ITV’s new spin-off Fastest Finger First arriving on our screens next week, the public’s chances of getting on Millionaire are about to get better.
The show, which is hosted by Anita Rani, sees contestants compete in various rounds of Millionaire’s first challenge – Fastest Finger First – with the winner being fast-tracked to sit opposite Jeremy Clarkson on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.
In an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com, the show’s executive producer Kieran Doherty and host Anita Rani revealed why going on Fastest Finger First gives contestants an advantage over someone who made it directly onto Millionaire.
What is the easiest route to Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
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For the quizzers out there who want to the chance to head home with a million pounds in their pocket, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and Fastest Finger First executive producer Kieran Doherty has revealed his top tips on how to land in that iconic chair.
Speaking to RadioTimes.com in an exclusive interview, the producer said that there’s nothing to stop contestants from applying for both Millionaire and its Fastest Finger First spin-off.
“The thing is, if you apply for Millionaire solely just on its own, and you go through the process and you get selected, you’re selected to sit on Fastest Finger First row. And even at that, there’s no guarantee [of playing the main game]. You have to win Fastest Finger First in that episode.
“If someone gets on the chair for a long run, even though you made it to the show, you may not end up sitting in the hot seat,” he continued. “Just getting to Fastest Finger First is an accomplishment in and of itself but it’s no guarantee.”
Doherty said winning the Fastest Finger First game show guarantees you a go at taking part in Millionaire.
“If you win [Fastest Finger First], you’re guaranteed to skip ahead and go straight into the seat and play,” he explained.
Doherty added that over 75,000 people apply to compete on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire every season, and Fastest Finger First is “just another way in”.
“You have to answer more questions on Fastest Finger First, but to be on a quiz, you’ve got to have really good general knowledge, obviously. That gets you right in the chair.”
Meanwhile, Fastest Finger First presenter Anita Rani said that getting onto the spin-off first could give you the upper hand ahead of Millionaire.
She said: “What I will say is that we possibly give you an advantage having already been in the space.
“Having already played in the studio and being relaxed in a studio environment is half the psychology of it. So there might be that as an advantage.”
Fastest Finger First rules
The new ITV game show expands on Millionaire’s Fastest Finger First round, which takes place at the beginning of each episode and decides which contestant will be playing the main Millionaire game.
However, in this spin-off, five contestants play against each other in multiple rounds, with each point pushing them up the question ladder. The two players with the largest score at the end of the round go head-to-head in a Faster Finger First duel, with the winner staying in the chair and the loser being replaced by another contestant on the panel.
Whoever remains in the winner’s seat when the Klaxon sounds at the end of the episode is fast-tracked to play Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, skipping the Fastest Finger First round that usually opens the main show and placing them opposite Jeremy Clarkson.
The five winners of Fastest Finger First will be in the iconic seat at the start of the new series of Who Wants to be a Millionaire, which airs later this year on ITV.
Fastest Finger First airs on Monday 29th August at 4:30pm on ITV and ITV Hub, with episodes airing every afternoon that week. Want something else to watch? Check out our full TV Guide or visit our Entertainment hub for the latest news.
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