ITV’s Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? revival is getting a second wind, with Jeremy Clarkson set to return for ten more episodes of quizzical tension at some point next year.
The series, which puts fifteen questions between punters and a million quid, first launched in 1998 with Chris Tarrant in the host’s chair and a string of nervous wrecks in the hot seat. The show ran in its original format until 2014, with over 500 episodes airing.
Millionaire was an immense success and a real water-cooler discussion point, helped along by the odd scandal, and it was remade in numerous countries around the world.
Clarkson took Tarrant’s place for a string of 20th-anniversary episodes back in May, with ITV opting to make a few changes to the format in order to keep things fresh: contestants could now move the second safety net to anywhere they wanted (rather than it being locked at £32,000), and they could also use Ask The Host as an extra lifeline (which backfired in one instance where Clarkson got it wrong).
These changes to the format will remain intact for Clarkson’s next run of episodes, which are expected to air in 2019.
Commenting on the announcement, Clarkson said this:
“I absolutely loved hosting the anniversary shows and cannot wait to spend a few precious hours away from James May and Richard Hammond, making the new ones.”
We’ll bring you more Millionaire news as we hear it.