LOS ANGELES – When "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" made its American debut in 1999, it became an instant hit.
But in England, where the show originated, it was nothing short of a phenomenon.
At its peak, 19 million viewers were tuning in — roughly a third of the country — including an underground network of fans determined to find their way to the hot seat.
"It just kind of ripped through the fabric of reality into a new world," said Michael Sheen, who plays founding host Chris Tarrant in "Quiz," AMC's new miniseries about how three contestants were accused of cheating their way to the million-pound prize.
The three-part story, directed by Stephen Frears ("The Queen"), centers on Charles Ingram, a British Army major who snagged the grand prize, even while admitting to Tarrant during the taping that he was taking wild stabs at the answers.
Producers got suspicious. They quickly insisted that Ingram and his wife, Diana, had helped orchestrate a series of coughs from the audience to guide him to the right answers.
Their subsequent trial became almost as big of a sensation as the show itself, with the couple becoming the laughing stock of the United Kingdom.
"I don't know what's worse," says Ingram, played by Matthew Macfadyen, the British equivalent of Brendan Fraser: "If people think we're criminals or idiots."
