British TV Ratings War Heats Up

Nov. 22 -- After 122 episodes of the British version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, there’s finally a winner. And the winner of 1 million pounds (US$1.5 million) is a cousin of the Prince of Wales’ companion, Camilla Parker Bowles.

But Judith Keppel, 58, the ice-cool winner of all that cash, insists the royal connection does not make her a wealthy heiress, just an ordinary garden designer from Fulham in west London, married to a TV scriptwriter and mother of three grown-up children.

The high point of the show on Monday night came when host Chris Tarrant asked the million quid question: “Which [English] king was married to Eleanor of Aquitaine?”

To which the former debutante, whose great-grandmother was the sister of Parker Bowles’ great-great-grandfather, supplied the right answer with quiet confidence: “King Henry II.”

But the British newspaper The Mirror reported Keppel’s sang froide melted when she actually hit the jackpot. “I can’t believe it,” she said. “I’m overwhelmed.”

Parker Bowles was said to be “amazed and delighted” at her relative’s win, The Mirror said.

‘Dumbing Down’ on Special Nights?

But as Keppel celebrated on Monday night, BBC executives suggested she may have been allowed to scoop the big prize to help the host network ITV in a tight ratings war.

The Mirror reported that BBC executives believed that without the win, Millionaire could have lost out to the final episode of the rival One Foot In The Grave on BBC One.

The papers reported that Millionaire contestant Kate Heusser scooped £500,000 (US$711,975) when the show coincided with a one-hour EastEnders special and the first week in prime time for The Weakest Link.

“It’s a bit of a coincidence,” said an unnamed BBC executive in The Mirror. “Call me suspicious, but it seems you can drastically improve your chances of becoming a millionaire if you check your BBC One schedule. I wonder if there has been some deliberate dumbing down of the questions on certain nights?”