The first person ever to win the £1 million jackpot on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? has given her frank assessment of the show's current host, Jeremy Clarkson.
From Garden Designer to Millionaire
Judith Keppel made television history in 2000 when she correctly answered all fifteen questions, becoming the programme's first UK jackpot winner. Her path to victory wasn't easy, requiring more than 50 attempts to get on the show.
At the time of her win, Judith was working as a garden designer and revealed she had spent over £100 on phone calls trying to secure a spot, despite struggling for money. A quarter of a century later, she claims to still possess the original £1 million she won, having chosen to reinvest her winnings wisely rather than splurge on luxuries.
Life After Millionaire and Clarkson Critique
Three years after her life-changing win, Judith joined the BBC Two quiz show Eggheads, where she remained a fixture for 19 years before retiring in 2022. She continues to watch Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, which Clarkson has hosted since 2018, but did not hold back when evaluating his quiz prowess.
She stated: "Frankly, he knows nothing. Ask him a geography question or a question about cars and he might know, but there's no point asking him anything else."
The Host's Perspective
Contestants can use the host as a lifeline when in a tight spot, a prospect that makes Clarkson anxious. When asked if helping contestants has become easier, he confessed: "No, it's still terrifying. I was doing reasonably well on my average getting them right, but this series, I have been really useless."
He describes his role as "very useful" but acknowledges it hasn't improved his general knowledge, viewing it purely as a test of memory recall. Despite his high-profile quizmaster role, Clarkson reveals he is not a sought-after pub quiz teammate, recalling an incident where he confidently gave a wrong answer and vowed never to participate again.
Meanwhile, Judith remembers her own final million-pound question vividly. She admits she "wasn't 100 per cent sure" of the answer but was guided by some "insane gambling-instinct urge" to correctly identify Henry II as the king married to Eleanor of Aquitaine. Only five others have since won the jackpot, with Donald Fear being the most recent victor in 2020.
