Quiz couple Charles and Diana Ingram to appeal against cheating conviction
Ingrams claim audio evidence was tampered with in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? scandal
Charles and Diana Ingram, whose story has been dramatised on ITV’s Quiz, are to ask the court of appeal to overturn their convictions for cheating on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.
The couple’s legal team will claim that audio evidence may have been altered before it was presented to the jury, casting doubt on their conviction.
In 2003, the Ingrams were found guilty of cheating their way to win £1m on the popular ITV game show, presented by Chris Tarrant. The prosecution had argued that they “procured the execution of a valuable security by deception” by colluding with an accomplice in the audience, Tecwen Whittock, who would apparently cough when the correct answer was mentioned.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Ingrams and Whittock, who were given suspended prison sentences and fines, still maintain their innocence.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––For a round-up of the most important stories from around the world - and a concise, refreshing and balanced take on the week’s news agenda - try The Week magazine. Start your trial subscription today –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Speaking to The Guardian, human rights lawyer Rhona Friedman said she believes the couple were the victims of a miscarriage of justice.
“Speaking to them and meeting them, I just know that they did not do it,” said Friedman. “I just feel very sorry for them.”
She described Ingram, a major in the British Army in 2003, as man whose “wild and eccentric” character could have been mistaken by the show’s producers for suspicious behaviour. “The performance he gave that everyone found remarkable is pretty much how I experienced Charles,” she said.
Friedman added: “The idea is that Charles was primed to appear on TV for the first time ever, in front of millions of people, knowing that he was going to be cheating, with a guy sitting behind him that he hasn’t met coughing to indicate an answer, without giving any reaction. It would have been the performance of a lifetime and he’s not capable of it.”
Meanwhile, commenting on last night’s finale of Quiz, the three-part ITV mini-series which dramatised the story, the Daily Mail says it left viewers “reeling” by hinting that the couple are indeed innocent.
One viewer summarised the response on Twitter: “So after all that: were they actually guilty?”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The history of Donald Trump's election conspiracy theories
The Explainer How the 2024 Republican nominee has consistently stoked baseless fears of a stolen election
By David Faris Published
-
Two ancient cities have been discovered along the Silk Road
Under the radar The discovery changed what was known about the old trade route
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
'People shouldn't have to share the road with impaired drivers'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Texas’s abortion law: the Republicans get their way, at last
Speed Read SB8 authorises private citizens to sue anyone who performs, ‘aids or abets’ an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy
By The Week Staff Published
-
Changing legal gender: what’s new and how does it work?
Speed Read Cost of a gender recognition certificate application is reduced from £140 to £5
By Kate Samuelson Last updated
-
America’s bloodiest state votes to ban the death penalty
Speed Read Virginia has executed more than 1,300 people in its 400-year history
By Joe Evans Last updated
-
FBI accused of ‘fake’ background check on Donald Trump Supreme Court nominee
Speed Read Democratic senator calls for ‘proper oversight’ over Brett Kavanaugh investigation into sexual assault claims
By Joe Evans Last updated
-
Family of Malcolm X claims letter proves FBI and NYPD involved in his murder
Speed Read Daughters of assassinated civil rights leader demand reopening of investigation
By Joe Evans Last updated
-
Meghan Markle granted nine-month delay in Mail on Sunday privacy case
Speed Read Duchess of Sussex had applied for summary judgement in battle over letters sent to her estranged father
By Chas Newkey-Burden Last updated
-
Meghan Markle to pay £67,000 after losing first round of legal battle against Mail
Speed Read Duchess of Sussex is suing the newspaper’s publisher for printing parts of private letter to her father
By Joe Evans Published
-
MI6 agents tried to stop judge seeing secret documents in ‘licence to kill’ case
Speed Read Intelligence agency was forced to apologise for ‘any misunderstanding’, court documents show
By Joe Evans Published