The series follows a series of events about the life of Charles Ingram, a former British Army pioneer, who caused a major scandal in the early 2000s. This scandal was disastrous given that Charles designed his way to win a million pounds in the game show Who wants to be a millionaire? Ingram and his wife Diana and his partner, Tequein Whitock, can steal a lot of money under mysterious circumstances.
The honours on the first night go to Michael Sheen for his performance as bullish Chris Tarrant. The actor's ability to look like real people is practically supernatural.
This was adapted by James Graham from his stage play and directed by Stephen Frears, who came at it with the same verve and wit and feel for dark comedy he brought to A Very English Scandal. The acting was also uniformly wonderful.
As befits a story about a multiple-choice quiz show, the serial worked well under numerous headings. Melodrama and farce, hokum and pathos, were mixed with gobbets of media satire and social commentary.
Entertaining as the TV studio sequences were, with Michael Sheen's portrayal of quizmaster Chris Tarrant teetering cheekily between impersonation and parody, the final episode kicked up a gear with its account of the Ingrams' trial.
Comedic and nostalgic and filled with funny performances and the bathetic laughs of a very English heist. Under the surface though, it raises the play's serious questions about fairness and justice, all handled with the sprightliest, lightest of touch.
Funny, pacy, with an element of nostalgia and a stellar cast, the mini-series about the 2001 Who Wants To Be A Millionaire "Coughing Major" controversy caught the imagination of the nation.
It was quite delightful to see an ITV drama sending up its own former executives, television not only eating itself, but taking care to cover every morsel with tomato ketchup first.
