Matthew Asbury, a factory worker from Nelson, Lancashire, was a contestant on series 1 of the UK version of the show on 10-11 September, 1998. He walked away with £64,000.
At the time, Matthew's wife Catherine was expecting her first baby, and during the second show that he was on, Catherine was giving birth, but managed to call before the show began with a poignant message to Matthew.
WWTBAM Run[]
Fastest Finger First[]
| Fastest Finger First Question | |
| Which of these large flightless birds is native to Australia? | |
| ⬥ A: Kiwi | ⬥ B: Ostrich |
| ⬥ C: Emperor penguins | ⬥ D: Emu |
| From the 9 remaining contestants, 4 got it right, but Matthew (with a time of 2.10 seconds) was the fastest to correctly answer D: Emu, making it into the Hot Seat. |
Matthew's Run to the Million[]
| £100 (1 of 15) - Not Timed | |
| What is the capital of Germany? | |
| ⬥ A: Berlin | ⬥ B: Moscow |
| ⬥ C: Edinburgh | ⬥ D: Athens |
| £200 (2 of 15) - Not Timed | |
| What is a female pig called? | |
| ⬥ A: Jenny | ⬥ B: Sow |
| ⬥ C: Mare | ⬥ D: Hind |
| £300 (3 of 15) - Not Timed | |
| If you met someone whose native tongue was Cantonese, what would be their nationality? | |
| ⬥ A: Peruvian | ⬥ B: Japanese |
| ⬥ C: Chinese | ⬥ D: Swiss |
| Chris, after realising Matthew did not know the answer, decided to repeat the question and emphasized Chinese while doing so. Matthew then 'decided' to take a wild guess for Chinese, and got it right for £300. |
| £500 (4 of 15) - Not Timed | |
| Which mountains cover parts of Italy, France and Switzerland? | |
| ⬥ A: Pyrenees | ⬥ B: Rockies |
| ⬥ C: Alps | ⬥ D: Urals |
| £1,000 (5 of 15) - Not Timed | |
| What group of people were given the nickname Forty-niners in California? | |
| ⬥ A: Chinese immigrants | ⬥ B: Gold prospectors |
| ⬥ C: Mormons | ⬥ D: Railway workers |
| £2,000 (6 of 15) - Not Timed | |
| What drink is the result of mixing champagne with orange juice? | |
| ⬥ A: Sidewinder | ⬥ B: Harvey Wallbanger |
| ⬥ C: Buck's Fizz | ⬥ D: Tom Collins |
| £4,000 (7 of 15) - Not Timed | |
| What name is given to the lower part of an interior wall? '50:50' and 'Phone-a-Friend' lifelines used | |
| ⬥ A: Stucco | ⬥ B: Quoin |
| ⬥ C: Dado | ⬥ D: Transom |
| Matthew did not know, so he decided to use his 50:50, eliminating A and B. Still unsure, he decided to call his friend Paul, who was not sure, but would guess Dado. He decided to go with him and won £4,000. Then, the klaxon called time and Matthew would return on £4,000 with only 1 lifeline still available. |
| £8,000 (8 of 15) - Not Timed | |
| What is the flavouring 'vanilla' obtained from? 'Ask the Audience' lifeline used | |
| ⬥ A: Pod | ⬥ B: Leaf |
| ⬥ C: Root | ⬥ D: Flower |
| Ask the Audience Results: A: 72% ⬥ B: 3% ⬥ C: 15% ⬥ D: 10% | |
| £16,000 (9 of 15) - Not Timed | |
| Which organisation has the motto 'Who Dares Wins'? | |
| ⬥ A: The RNLI | ⬥ B: The SAS |
| ⬥ C: The ATC | ⬥ D: The BBC |
| £32,000 (10 of 15) - Not Timed | |
| On which mountain did Moses receive the Ten Commandments? | |
| ⬥ A: Mount Ararat | ⬥ B: Mount Hebron |
| ⬥ C: Mount Sinai | ⬥ D: Mount Olive |
| £64,000 (11 of 15) - Not Timed | |
| Which of these is the equivalent of twenty champagne bottles? | |
| ⬥ A: Jeroboam | ⬥ B: Rehoboam |
| ⬥ C: Nebuchadnezzar | ⬥ D: Belshazzar |
| £125,000 (12 of 15) - Not Timed | |
| How many miles separates Russia and the U.S.A. at their closest point? | |
| ⬥ A: 2.5 miles | ⬥ B: 11.5 miles |
| ⬥ C: 26.5 miles | ⬥ D: 137.5 miles |
| Matthew did not know, so he decided to walk away with £64,000. The correct answer was A: 2.5 miles. Total Prize Money: £64,000 |
Trivia[]
- Matthew spent his winnings on a new house. He and Catherine also have another son, born in February 2000.
Sources[]
Matthew Asbury's Run to the Million at ATGS (Part 1)- Matthew Asbury's Run to the Million at ATGS (Part 2)
| Preceded by David McNab |
UK Contestant (Series 1) Matthew Asbury |
Succeeded by David Thompson |