Welsh physics teacher, David Edwards, became the first man to win the British version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? This month is the 23-year anniversary of Edwards’ triumph on British television. On 21st April, 2001, Edwards was the fastest-finger first to secure the hot seat opposite presenter Chris Tarrant.
Edwards, born a stone’s throw from Barry Waterfront, worked as a physics teacher at Cheadle High School and Denstone College in Staffordshire before his appearance on the show. He studied Metallurgy from Swansea University in 1969 and completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Education at Keele University, Staffordshire.
This is a man who had previous in the quizzing stakes. In 1990, Edwards became a Mastermind champion and, five years prior to this, he was named a ‘Mensa Super Brain’ following a newspaper competition.
Edwards was even extremely methodical with his attempts to get on the game show itself. He allocated upwards of £1,000 after accurately calculating how many times he’d need to call to secure a place on the show to try and win the fastest-finger first selection round.
It was his second attempt at getting into the hot seat when Edwards finally succeeded at the fastest-finger first stage. Edwards had a long-held ambition to take part in the series in an attempt to earn more to retire early. This is the dream for most entrants to the franchise, which has enjoyed a truly global following since the late 1990s.
The franchise has lasted well over two decades now and shows no signs of letting up. In fact, it’s still a major player in popular culture too, with a board game still a firm household favourite. The brand is also featured in leading online casino libraries, with an officially licensed slot game as well as a branded roulette table too.
Reliving David Edwards’ Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? run
During the fastest-finger first stage, the ten contestants were asked to put the following words into alphabetical order – Fathom, Folly, First and Fence. Edwards completed it fastest – and correctly – in 4.83 seconds.
Edwards breezed through the opening rounds to the £1,000 mark, before correctly predicting the singer ridiculed by Morecambe and Wise (Des O’Connor) in their TV shows, as well as Harry Potter’s popular game (Quidditch) and the venue for the 2001 FA Cup Final (Cardiff). The latter was an easier question for him given his roots.
Edwards also correctly answered that taxi drivers are the ones who must pass ‘The Knowledge’ test in London, as well as Coniston Water being the lake where Donald Campbell’s Bluebird was retrieved.
After storming the £64,000 question – correctly stating that composer Salieri was said to have poisoned rival composer, Mozart, Edwards moved onto the £125,000 question.
It was here where he’d require the aid of the audience. When asked the real first name of the then-Home Secretary, Jack Straw, Edwards ended up using his ‘Ask the Audience’ lifeline. 62% of the audience said it was C, John, but Edwards called his son, Richard, to be sure.
Unfortunately, Richard had no idea and then opted to use his ’50:50’ to confirm his theory that it wasn’t Justin or Joseph. He was right and opted for John.
Edwards stormed the £250,000 question, confirming that a grackle was, indeed, a bird. Things were still on a knife edge though, with Edwards playing on with no lifelines. In the £500,000 question, Edwards was relieved to know that The Newlyn School was associated with painters, rather than method actors, circus acts and musicians.
So, as Edwards had envisioned, he’d reached the all-important 15th and final million-pound question. After being asked what would grow from the seeds of ‘Quercus robur’, Edwards confidently told Tarrant that a Quercus was a type of tree, to the astonishment of the audience. Edwards opted for trees over flowers, vegetables and grain and the rest is history.
