Nicholas Bennett, a data analyst from West Hampstead, appeared as a contestant on Series 40 of the UK version of the show on 25 May 2025. He answered the 15th/final question wrong and walked away with £125,000 (the second safety net was £125,000).
He became the first person since Laurence and Jackie Llewelyn Bowen in 2006, to answer the million-pound question incorrectly, and the first to do so on a legitimate question.
Bennett was the first civilian top prize loser in the UK version of the show.
WWTBAM Run[]
Fastest Finger First[]
| Fastest Finger First Question | |
| Put these animals in order according to their native region, from north to south. | |
| ⬥ A: Hippopotamus | ⬥ B: Polar bear |
| ⬥ C: Koala | ⬥ D: Giant panda |
| The correct order is B-D-A-C. Out of 6 contestants, 4 answered correctly, the fastest being in Nicholas in 3.73 seconds. |
Nicholas' Run to the Million[]
| £100 (1 of 15) - Not timed | |
| In the human body, what is the common name for the navel? | |
| ⬥ A: Belly zip | ⬥ B: Belly toggle |
| ⬥ C: Belly hook | ⬥ D: Belly button |
| £200 (2 of 15) - Not timed | |
| Which computer key shares its name with an informal term for a restaurant bar bill? | |
| ⬥ A: Shift | ⬥ B: Control |
| ⬥ C: Delete | ⬥ D: Tab |
| £300 (3 of 15) - Not timed | |
| Which of these dog breeds has been traditionally used to assist in mountain rescue work? | |
| ⬥ A: Pug | ⬥ B: St Bernard |
| ⬥ C: Poodle | ⬥ D: Chihuahua |
| £500 (4 of 15) - Not timed | |
| Which of these terms is used to refer to the film industry based in Dubai? | |
| ⬥ A: Pinewood | ⬥ B: Wedgwood |
| ⬥ C: Bollywood | ⬥ D: Driftwood |
| £1,000 (5 of 15) - Not timed | |
| Founded in Paris in 1985, Le Cordon Bleu is a school that primarily teaches which subject? | |
| ⬥ A: Journalism | ⬥ B: Engineering |
| ⬥ C: Fashion design | ⬥ D: Cooking |
| £2,000 (6 of 15) - Not timed | |
| Which of these cartoon characters lives under the sea in a pineapple? | |
| ⬥ A: Bugs Bunny | ⬥ B: Peppa Pig |
| ⬥ C: Fred Flintstone | ⬥ D: SpongeBob SquarePants |
| £4,000 (7 of 15) - Not timed | |
| In a rowing eight, what term refers to the crew member who faces the direction of travel, and is responsible for steering the boat? | |
| ⬥ A: Cox | ⬥ B: Bow |
| ⬥ C: Six | ⬥ D: Stroke |
| £8,000 (8 of 15) - Not timed | |
| Nitroglycerin is a key component of which of these? | |
| ⬥ A: Bleach | ⬥ B: Dynamite |
| ⬥ C: Vaseline | ⬥ D: Vinyl records |
| £16,000 (9 of 15) - Not timed | |
| Leonardo DiCaprio does not play a real-life person in which of these films? | |
| ⬥ A: The Aviator | ⬥ B: Catch Me if You Can |
| ⬥ C: The Wolf of Wall Street | ⬥ D: Revolutionary Road |
| £32,000 (10 of 15) - Not timed | |
| Which of these events was observed by Samuel Pepys, and described at length in his famous diary? | |
| ⬥ A: Funeral of James I | ⬥ B: Spanish Armada off the English coast |
| ⬥ C: Great Fire of London | ⬥ D: Execution of Guy Fawkes |
| £64,000 (11 of 15) - Not timed | |
| Which of these well-known Shakespeare lines is from the play 'Richard III'? | |
| ⬥ A: Beware the Ides of March | ⬥ B: Something wicked this way comes |
| ⬥ C: Now is the winter of our discontent | ⬥ D: Alas, poor Yorick! |
| £125,000 (12 of 15) - Not timed | |
| Which of these countries is not partly or wholly located on the island of Borneo? | |
| ⬥ A: Papua New Guinea | ⬥ B: Brunei |
| ⬥ C: Indonesia | ⬥ D: Malaysia |
| £250,000 (13 of 15) - Not timed | |
| Which of these groups never successfully invaded the city of Rome? | |
| ⬥ A: Visigoths | ⬥ B: Huns |
| ⬥ C: Vandals | ⬥ D: Gauls |
| £500,000 (14 of 15) - Not timed | |
| Which of these long-running US sitcoms had the most episodes? 'Ask the Audience' and '50:50' lifelines used | |
| ⬥ A: The Big Bang Theory | ⬥ B: Friends |
| ⬥ C: The Office | ⬥ D: Seinfeld |
| Ask the Audience Results: A: 23% ⬥ B: 37% ⬥ C: 10% ⬥ D: 30% | |
| During the audience vote: Nicholas: It's catchy music. Jeremy: It's not! It's annoying! |
| £1,000,000 (15 of 15) - Not timed | |
| Which of these words, each coined by a famous writer, was derived from the title of a fairy tale about three princes? 'Ask the Host' and 'Phone-a-Friend' lifelines used | |
| ⬥ A: Pandemonium | ⬥ B: Serendipity |
| ⬥ C: Utopia | ⬥ D: Yahoo |
| Total Prize Money: £125,000 |
Trivia[]
- Nicholas represented Sidney Sussex, Cambridge on University Challenge, but his team was beaten by Imperial College London on his team's second appearance.
- Nicholas is the biggest loser on the UK version as of now, losing a massive £375,000, surpassing Duncan Bickley and Rob Mitchell's £218,000 losses in 2000 and 2003 respectively, losing £157,000 more than Duncan and Rob.
- Were Nicholas to have set his safety net at £32,000 during his game, he would have had lost £468,000.
- Were he not to have set his safety net at all, he would have lost £499,000.
- When he missed the Top Prize Question, the £32,000 lose cue was played rather than the million pound lose cue.
- His Top Prize loss was the first since Luiz Pradines in Brazil, in December 2023, ending a 17-month gap, the longest between two Top Prize Losses in the global Millionaire history. It is also believed to be the largest financial loss on any UK game show.
- He also became the fourth contestant worldwide to save four lifelines to the penultimate question after Jonas von Essen, Jullie Dutra and Ike and Alan Barinholtz.
| Preceded by Tarn Vaid |
UK Contestant (Series 40) Nicholas Bennett |
Succeeded by Ian Harrison |