Martin Skillings

Martin Skillings a Quantity Surveyor from Brancaster, Norfolk became the very first person to win £125,000 on the 9th of January 1999. He was also the very first person to get up to £125,000 without needing any lifelines.

Fastest Finger First question.

Starting nearest to the top, put these four parts of a horse in descending order.

A: Withers

B: Mane

C: Ears

D: Fetlock

Correct Order: C, B, A, D

1. Which musical family featured Donny, Marie and little Jimmy?

A: The Jacksons

B: The Partridge Family

C: The Osmonds

D: The Carpenters

Correct Answer: C

2. Which animals have trotters?

A: Cows

B: Horses

C: Pigs

D: Deer

Correct Answer: C

3. Which of these words means a 'beginner'?

A: Rookie

B: Bookie

C: Cookie

D: Hookie

Correct Answer: A

4. On what day of the week does the queen give away 'Maundy Money'?

A: Tuesday

B: Wednesday

C: Thursday

D: Friday

Correct Answer: C

5. Which capital city indicates 'L' in the phonetic alphabet?

A: London

B: Lisbon

C: La Paz

D: Lima

Correct Answer: D

6. In which city will the 2000 Summer Olympics be held?

A: Cape Town

B: Stockholm

C: Athens

D: Sydney

Correct Answer: D

(The klaxon called time and Martin would return on £2000 with all 3 lifelines remaining)

7. Which surname links 3 presenters of TV's Points Of View

A: Took

B: Ford

C: Smith

D: Robinson

Correct Answer: D

8. What is the capital of The Falkland Islands?

A: Port Elizabeth

B: Port Moresby

C: Port Stanley

D: Port Said

Correct Answer: C

9. In which of these countries do motorists drive on the left?

A: France

B: Spain

C: USA

D: Ireland

Correct Answer: D

10. Of which story is Richard Hannay the hero?

A: The 39 Steps

B: The Third Man

C: 1984

D: Of Mice & Men

Correct Answer: A

11. What form of transport was the R101?

A: Train

B: Airship

C: Jet Aircraft

D: Submarine

Correct Answer: B

12. Which of these animals is a different gender from the others?

A: Vixen

B: Pen

C: Hart

D: Gill

Correct Answer: C

13. Sir John Hicks was the first British winner of which Nobel Prize?

A: Peace

B: Chemistry

C: Economics

D: Physics

Correct Answer: C

(Martin had no idea and was never going to play this anyway unless convinced, so he phoned a friend called Tony who didn't give any answer in 30 seconds. Martin used his 50:50 which left Peace and Economics, then asked the audience with 74% saying Economics and 26% saying Peace. Martin did not risk it and left as the biggest winner so far. Incidentally Economics was the right answer.)

The contestant after him was Ian Horsewell who also won £125,000.