Millionaire contestants can text Tarrant to win
Quiz fans will be able to play along with TV favourite Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? from today using mobile phone technology.
ITV1 viewers who answer the multiple choice questions correctly will be in with a chance of winning daily prizes plus a place in the Fastest Finger First line-up on the next series of the hit show.
Programme-maker Celador said it was the first time the hi-tech system had been used in this way by a TV show.
The system will be yet another money-spinner for Celador, which already charges viewers who play the game on the internet and would-be contestants who phone the premium rate line.
Celador International and Whoosh Group have joined forces to develop the system which will be used in 60 daily repeat episodes of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Classic being shown this summer.
It is said to be the first time that text messaging has been fully incorporated into a TV show or used for anything other than voting, such as that used on programmes like Pop Idol and Big Brother.
The system can process up to 1.8 million text messages an hour, as well as telling exactly when the messages were sent.
It has already been tested among Millionaire viewers in Wales and if it proves successful the format could be rolled out in the new series at the end of August.
The game starts once the studio contestant reaches question five, with mobile participants, helped by on-screen prompts, texting in the question number followed by the answer A, B, C or D.
As well as having to get the answers right, speed will also be a key to success with the fastest texters winning bonus points.
After the show, viewers can see how they did by visiting the itv.com/millionaire website.
Presenter Chris Tarrant said: “People watching at home already join in the fun, shouting at their TV screens.
“Now they can pick up their mobiles and do something about it. The technology is amazing and so straightforward to use.”
David Bainbridge, Whoosh’s client services director, said the format would also give viewers the incentive to take part again and again in a bid to win a place On the studio show.
Valérie Schenowitz, Celador International’s commercial and marketing manager, said: “It’s evident that having wireless services connected to a television show brings positive ratings and attracts a more youth-skewed audience – we’ve seen this in the 30 countries where Millionaire has a stand-alone mobile game.”
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? has been sold as a format to more than 100 countries around the world. Gay Byrne hosts the Irish equivalent.
The show hit the headlines recently with the conviction of Major Charles Ingram, his wife Diana and college lecturer Tecwen Whittock who used a series of coded coughs to lead the major to the top prize.
