Who Wants To Be A Millionaire top prize now worth just £500,000
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire top prize now worth just £500,000
Rob WhiteMon, May 11, 2026 at 10:00 AM UTC
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The £1m jackpot, originally won by Judith Keppel, has never been increased - Eddie Mulholland
The £1m top prize on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire is now worth the equivalent of just £500,000, analysis shows.
The hit game show, currently in its 36th series, began in 1998 and offered the first regular £1m jackpot in television history.
However, the maximum payout has never been increased, so inflation has reduced its real-terms value to the equivalent of just £505,600 today, according to Bank of England figures.
Only seven contestants have correctly answered all 15 questions to secure the windfall, with Roman Dubowski becoming the show’s latest seven-figure winner last month.
In today’s money, however, he took home around £473,000 less than Judith Keppel, who was the first top prize winner in 2000.
Brian Byrnes, of wealth platform Moneybox, said: “This is a sobering illustration of the impact inflation can have. Today, the show would almost need to be called ‘Who Wants To Be A £2.2 Millionaire?’ to give people a similar level of wealth.
“Over long periods, it’s crucial to look at different saving and investing strategies. Inflation can quietly erode the value of cash sitting in low or no-interest accounts, which makes the case for long-term investing even more compelling.
“Keeping £1m in cash savings products since 1998 would have given you around £2.1m today, but a globally diversified tracker fund could have turned it into a whopping £6m to £8m by now.”
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire began in September 1998 and reportedly attracted 19 million viewers at its peak.
During its initial run, the show was presented by Chris Tarrant until he retired in 2014. It was revamped and relaunched in 2018, with Jeremy Clarkson taking over as host.
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The show’s lifelines, number of questions and milestones – which guarantee a minimum win – have all been tweaked during the programme’s history, but the top prize has never increased.
Roman Dubowski, the show’s latest winner, takes home a prize worth half what it originally was in 1998 - Rachel Joseph/ITV
James Norton, of investment managers Vanguard, said: “Winning £1m still sounds like instant financial security, but inflation is a reminder that money doesn’t stand still if it’s left sitting in cash.
“What felt comfortably life‑changing in the late 1990s simply doesn’t stretch as far today, as prices have steadily risen year after year.”
However, Ms Keppel, who became the first £1m winner in November 2000, told The Telegraph: “Even though it is now worth half as much, it is still a life-changing amount.
“It certainly changed my life and I have had financial peace of mind ever since. I was so lucky.”
In a previous interview with The Telegraph, Ms Keppel said she stumbled across the winning answer while visiting a church on a drive home from a holiday in France.
Mr Dubowski became the show’s seventh millionaire last month when he successfully identified Bass Ale as the trademarked logo described in the James Joyce novel Ulysses and used in paintings by Manet and Picasso.
He joined Ms Keppel, David Edwards (2001), Robert Brydges (2001), Pat Gibson (2004), Ingram Wilcox (2006) and Donald Fear (2020) as winners of the top prize.
Charles Ingram, a former British Army major, also correctly answered all 15 questions to qualify for the top prize in 2001, but it was withheld after he was adjudged to have cheated.
His wife, Diana, and a co-contestant, Tecwen Whittock, were found to have assisted him through a series of coughs, and all three were convicted of a criminal offence.
Stellify Media, the show’s producer, was approached for comment.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
