A Who Wants to Be a Millionaire player just became the show’s second biggest loser after missing a sports question.
A contestant on the popular ITV show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire had a tough day, becoming the show’s second-biggest loser after missing a sports question — but how would you have done?
On Bank Holiday Sunday, the classic quiz show aired on ITV with Jeremy Clarkson as the host. Just last week, Roman Dubowski made history by answering all 15 questions correctly, becoming the first winner in six years and only the seventh ever to take home the million-pound prize.
But things didn’t go quite as well for Jen Essery Lillikakis on Sunday’s episode. She missed the £500,000 question and lost a huge £186,000. Still, she walked away with £64,000 — a nice amount to help pay for her upcoming honeymoon.
If Jen had chosen to skip that tricky question, she could have left with £250,000. Instead, she took a risk on a sports question and had to settle for just over £60,000.
The question was: “According to Guinness World Records, which of these has traveled over 260 miles per hour during a competitive game or match? Tennis ball, Ice hockey puck, Badminton shuttlecock, or Table tennis ball?”
Jen looked unsure and called her dad for help. He wasn’t sure either. She finally guessed an ice hockey puck — but the right answer was actually a badminton shuttlecock.
When Jeremy Clarkson told her she’d lost £186,000, he said, “Oh my God, you’ve just lost £186,000! It’s unbelievable you took a punt on that. You deserve a bravery award.”
Jen took it in stride, replying, “Well, that’s fine, I’ve still won £64,000.”
Jeremy added, “What surprises me is that the answer is a badminton shuttlecock. Honestly, it’s unbelievable. And you took a real risk — you truly deserve that bravery award. Ladies and gentlemen, a great competitor!”
Viewers quickly shared their opinions on social media.
One said, “Silly contestant on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire gambling £250k and losing it, then laughing about it. Who in their right mind throws away £250k for just £64k?”
Another wrote, “The lady clearly doesn’t need the money since she wasn’t upset. Why didn’t she just take £250k instead of guessing for £500k? The £64k she won was nice, but she could have kept £250k.”
Someone else said, “Imagine risking £186k on a question you don’t know and losing. She must be loaded.”
And another added, “Just watched Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. They should put a time limit on answers. Contestant gambled on a £500k question and lost. Pure greed.”