Lifeline

50:50, Phone-a-Friend and Ask the Audience in 16:9 rave format

Lifelines are functions of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? which are given to contestants in all worldwide formats of the show. Each lifeline is ideally only used once per game. Contestants can usually use more than one lifeline during the same question in any order they want. Each lifeline has a different effect, and many contestants use them strategically (for example, not using a lifeline during the question after a safety net has been achieved, as it usually is a free shot).

Most formats use three lifelines available to the contestant (50:50, Phone-a-Friend and Ask the Audience being the most popular ones, having been the original three lifelines), however, some versions offer more lifelines (up to five in some versions; sometimes added in after a certain point) and some may even have less than three of them in total (as low as one, with the early versions of the Millionaire Hot Seat format).

Originally, they were intended to be called "helping hands". Earlier versions of the software used to run the show used said term internally.

Usage

The current set of lifelines in the UK version placed above the money tree. Pictured: 50:50, Phone-a-Friend, Ask the Audience, Ask the Host.

Lifelines are called and used whenever the player asks for it before answering the question. In the first series of the UK version, lifelines can only be used before the contestant declares to play the question. Depending on the function, the lifeline activates soon after it is requested. Some lifelines may require a second confirmation due to potential irreversible consequences. Under clock formats, lifelines are activated immediately upon request. With some exceptions, lifelines are single use.

Each lifeline can be classified under their general function, based on the original three lifelines:

• A lifeline may modify a core gameplay feature, such as removing incorrect answers, granting a second attempt at answering the question, or neglecting to answer the question altogether in favour of a different one.
• A lifeline may request for help from a known and trusted person or group, such as a friend either inside or outside the studio, an expert or special guest brought on by production, or the host.
• A lifeline may request for help from unvetted strangers, such as the audience inside the studio, fellow contestants, or home viewers tuning into a live broadcast of the show.

Availability of lifelines between versions

Some lifelines may be unavailable between different versions either due to misuse by contestants, difference in formats, or current world events.

For instance, the Phone-a-Friend lifeline has been removed or replaced in several versions due to the contestants' friends using the internet to look up answers.

Lifelines like Pass and Jump the Question haven't been used outside Millionaire Hot Seat and the syndicated version of U.S. Millionaire respectively due to the differences in formats (Hot Seat for the former and Shuffle format for the latter).

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many versions used a reduced audience (i.e. The Netherlands) or omitted it entirely (i.e. Ukraine, United Kingdom). Therefore, Ask the Audience, and other audience interaction lifelines similar to it, was often replaced with another lifeline, including:

• Ask the Host (Australia, Russia);
• Ask the Star (i.e. Germany, Sweden);
• Switch the Question (i.e. Poland, Uruguay, Ukraine, Australia);
• Phone-a-Friend/Phone at Home (i.e. the UK, France, India Hindi);
• Plus One (i.e. Chile, Costa Rica, United States, Ukraine, Vietnam);
• Two/Three Wise Men (i.e. Croatia, Vietnam);
• Ask the Expert (i.e. Turkey);
• Ask Three of the Audience (i.e. Arab World, Austria)

After the pandemic had calmed down, Ask the Audience returned to some, but not all, versions.

Lifelines on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

The official franchise has had 26 lifelines used across all international versions: six were introduced in the UK version, eight were made by the U.S. version, three were made by the Indian version for Hindi-speaking people, with the remainder introduced by other longstanding versions of the show. Below is a table containing all lifelines in chronological order of appearance.

Icon	English name	Original local name	Country of origin	Type	Description	Year of first appearance	Original set availability
	50:50	-	United Kingdom	Gameplay modifier	Removes two incorrect answers, leaving the correct answer and one remaining one. Can be paired with Double Dip to guarantee a correct answer.	1998	All questions
	Phone-a-Friend	-	United Kingdom	Known help	Contestant speaks to a nominated contact for 30 seconds to agree on an answer.	1998	All questions
	Ask the Audience	-	United Kingdom	Unvetted help	Audience votes via keypads to guide the contestant.	1998	All questions
	Switch the Question	Flip	United Kingdom	Gameplay modifier	Switches the current question for a new one.	2002	All questions
	Ask the Nation	-	United Kingdom	Unvetted help	Viewers vote via premium-rate phone line. Only viewer votes count.	2002	All questions
	Double Dip	-	United States	Gameplay modifier	Contestant can give a second answer if the first is wrong. Cannot walk away once used. Can be paired with 50:50.	2004	Last five questions
	Three Wise Men	-	United States	Known help	Three experts are consulted for 30 seconds to advise the contestant.	2004	Last five questions
	Ask the Star	pomoc Petra Marcina; Får stjernehjelp	Slovakia (one-shot) Norway (regular)	Known help	Consults one or more celebrities for guidance.	2004 (one-shot) 2008 (regular)	All questions
	Ask Three of the Audience	Los tres del público	Chile	Unvetted help	Three selected audience members advise the contestant, with a prize for each audience member that answer the question correctly (only in Vietnam and Finland).	2006	Last five questions
	Ask One of the Audience	Zusatzjoker	Germany	Unvetted help	One selected audience member advises the contestant, with a prize for correctly answering the question.	2007	High-risk format, all questions
	Ask the Expert	-	United States	Known help	Contestant consults a knowledgeable person (not necessarily an expert in the question's subject).	2008	Last 10 questions
	Pass	Passo	Italy	Gameplay modifier	Deflects the question to the next player in Hot Seat format.	2008	All questions (unless question has already been passed on)
	Jump the Question	-	United States	Gameplay modifier	Jumps the question without answering; no money won.	2010	First 13 questions
	People Speak	-	Philippines	Unvetted help	Filipino version of Ask Three of the Audience. Three selected audience members advise the contestant, with a prize for each audience that answer the question correctly.	2011	All questions
	Crystal Ball	-	United States	Gameplay modifier	Reveals the monetary value behind the current question.	2012	First nine questions
	Power Paplu	-	India (Hindi)	Gameplay modifier	Reuses a previously used lifeline. Originally in unlicensed Thailand version.	2013	Last 11 questions (When one lifeline was already used)
	Plus One	-	United States	Known help	Companion from the audience joins contestant to discuss the answer.	2014	All questions
N/A	Code Red	—	India (Hindi)	Known help	Companion hits a button if they think the contestant will answer incorrectly.	2014	All questions
	Extra Help	-	United States	Known help	Contestant consults another known audience member who joins them on stage.	2015	After Plus One is used, all questions
	Ask A Friend	-	Australia	Known help	Australian Hot Seat version of Plus One. Consults a known audience member in Hot Seat format.	2015	Fastest contestant, last 10 questions
	Cut the Question	-	United States	Gameplay modifier	Cuts current question out for an easier one. Usable only until US$50,000 question.	2016	First 10 questions
	Chat Room	होऊदे चर्चा	India (Marathi)	Known help	Consults a group chat via JioChat.	2016	All questions
	Ask the Host	-	United Kingdom	Known help	Contestant consults the presenter. Originally in unlicensed Thailand version.	2018	All questions
	Two Wise Men	Hỏi ý kiến những nhà thông thái	Vietnam	Known help	Vietnamese version of Three Wise Man. Two experts are consulted for 30 seconds to advise the contestant.	2020	Last 10 questions
	Ask the Contestants	Ajuda dos participantes	Brazil	Unvetted help	Fastest Finger First contestants advise the player.	2025	All questions
	The Hint	Sanket Suchak	India (Hindi)	Gameplay modifier	Provides a hint pertaining to the correct answer.	2025	All questions