Strategic coughing helped major to win a million, court told

AN army major used an accomplice’s strategic coughing to “cheat his way” to the top prize in Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, a court was told yesterday.

As the questions from game show host Chris Tarrant grew in difficulty and financial promise, Charles Ingram used the coughs to climb to the seven- figure fortune, London's Southwark Crown Court was told.

The vocal signals were carefully timed to tell the 39-year-old soldier which of the four possible answers was the right one, said Nicholas Hilliard, prosecuting.