“Who wants to be a millionaire?”: “Really bad” – Günter Jauch comments on the prediction scandal

A contestant on “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” From logging in with the wrong answer. In an interview, supervisor Günter Jauch explains why this is a terrible violation of the rules.

“We are counting on the public to remain fair and not reveal whether an answer is right or wrong.”

“Who wants to be a millionaire?” broadcaster Günter Jauch put it as a matter of course in an interview with his local broadcaster RTL.

The occasion was disgraceful: in the episode “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?”, which aired a week ago on Monday, an audience member shouted at the candidate: “No.” Save them from recording the wrong answer. The test program editors then provided an alternative question.

There is a “primal fear” in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? People will be cheated, as the supervisor of successful coordination recognizes when the rules are violated.

There has never been such a blatant case of fraud in Germany as in the original British version of the show, when accomplices coughed from the audience to guide the nominee to the million-dollar prize that was later cancelled.

“For example, we pre-screen candidates to see if there is a small transmitter hidden in their ears that might help them from the outside,” emphasized Gunther Jauch. “We'll be careful.”

Günter Jauch: “I have developed a good ear”

The range of potential rule violations is wide, as the supervisor further explains. “An ad does not necessarily mean that someone is shouting 'B'; rather, head shaking in the audience or other insulting reactions may also make the candidate realize that their thinking is wrong: 'Of course that doesn't work either.'

Another example: “Premature applause when someone expresses an idea is of course also an indication that the answer may not be so wrong after all.”

And what's “of course really bad” is the teasing “No!” When someone is about to log in there is a wrong answer. “It has happened before, and now it has happened again, and we should at least cancel the question immediately,” explains Günter Jauch.

“If it was the accompanying person who called, and things looked worse, we would have to disqualify the candidate.” The experienced pageant expert asserted that he had “now developed a keen ear to see if there was something going on in the audience.”

The €64,000 question should be cancelled

In the current case, the violation of the rule relates to a €64,000 question posed by candidate Corinna Arens. “How far are the two places with the lowest and highest postcodes in Germany from each other?” Yauch wanted to know from her.

Possible answers: only about 220 km, about 480 km, about 750 km, much more than 900 km? “I would say more than 900,” the candidate said out loud.

But the heckler loudly warned “No!” before choosing them.

Before Günter Jauch could sign on, which she had already decided, the candidate backed down. When asked about the warning prohibited by the rules, Corinna Ahrens claimed she heard nothing. The harassment was anything but quiet.

“This is exactly what I wanted to avoid and what I asked for before,” Günter Jauch complained angrily in the recorded broadcast.

While the 67-year-old was still stumped over the consequences he now had to chart, an off-screen voice – this time the supervisor – helped him up. It was the editors who announced the search for an alternative question.

The candidate answered the alternative question incorrectly. However, thanks to the “safety option” she chose (only three jokers, but an additional safe win level), the amount decreased relatively slightly to €16,000.

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