The Nigerian story
Episodes
We aired 12 episodes in 2004 with 29 winners; 37 episodes in season 2 with 83 winners. In season 3, our richer, bigger and better season with MTN, we aired 52 episodes and paid 98 winners among the Hot seat contestants .
We have had two editions of the valentine specials with couples as contestants, one edition of the parent/child special and one fantastic edition of the celebrity special.
Contestants
We had 212 contestants in the hot seat in the first three seasons with numerous other Fastest Finger First stage contestants who didn’t make it to the hot seat.
Our winners
A total of N73,236,000 had been won on WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE? in Nigeria as at the end of season 3 by 212 show winners, over 1,000 home play winners and 700 audience members
As of August 2007, WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE? Nigeria had produced nine millionaires with a pharmacist, Toyin Dina winning the highest amount of N2million. Eight other contestants won N1million each
Our very first millionaire was Quadri Arasi in January 2005 in season 2.
Other millionaires, mainly from Season 3, include Sorosola Alan Barton, Bamidele Oyinloye, Michael Onuoha, Dr. Bagana Mohamed /Sharon Muoneke, Adesola Arawole – Jacobs, Obinna Uchegbu, and Catherine Nwokolo.
We have also had 13 other contestants winning N500,000 and numerous others winning various sums in the past 3 seasons of WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE? Nigeria
Over 1,000 home play winners won N20,000 each and 700 audience members won N20,000 each during the audience play segment.
New season
The 4th season of Who wants to be a millionaire? in Nigeria started on the 3rd of August 2007 with the highlights of season 3 airing throughout the month of August.
Airing of new episodes of season 4 began on the 7th of September 2007
A WORLDWIDE HIT
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Known to have achieved audience share in excess of 70% internationally.
Capable of mind-blowing ratings such as those reached in the UK (19 Million viewers per night).
Known to have averaged about 29 million viewers per night in the US during the 1999-2000 season.
Capable of breaking all television records as it did in India - The success of the programme led to the host becoming the first Indian actor to have his torso displayed at Madame Tussauds in London . He is a huge Bollywood film legend and many contestants are more interested in getting to meet him than in winning the prize.
As of 9 April 2002 , 276 programmes had been aired, 691 people had sat in the hot seat and £30,931,000 had been won in total.
As of April 2002 three contestants had won £1 million Judith Keppel, a garden designer from Fulham who won £1 million on 20 November 2000 , David Edwards, a teacher from Staffordshire on 21 April 2001 and Robert Brydes, an unemployed banker on 29 September 2001.
The most money lost on the show in the UK was £218,000 by Duncan Bickley in October 2000 when he got the £500,000 question wrong and left with £32,000.
Six people have had a look at the million pound question and decided to leave with £500,000 — Peter Lee in January 2000, Kate Heusser and Jon Randall in November 2000, and Steve Devlin in January 2001, Peter Spyrides in October 2001, Roger Walker in February 2002.
Five people have left with no money at all John Davidson in January 1999, David Snaith in March 1999, Michelle Simmonds in February 2001 and Peter and Valiene Tungate in March 2001.
The highest ratings were recorded in March 1999 when 19.2 million people tuned in to watch the unfolding drama.
In the last three years, £967,000 has been won for charity in celebrity editions of the show by stars such as Coronation Streets Sean Wilson (Martin Platt), Jonathan Ross and wife Jane, David Baddiel and Frank Skinner and Christine and Neil Hamilton.
The shows format has been licensed or optioned in 106 countries. It is on air in 96 countries including: US, India , Japan , Colombia , China, Venezuela , Malaysia , Australia , Russia , Singapore , Philippines , Kazakhstan , Greece , Poland , Germany.
Ratings in the US have reached over 35 million viewers and the celebrity version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? in the US gained the biggest audience for the ABC network since 1983.
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