Who Wants To Be A Millionaire Player Gave Up Chance at £1m Jackpot After Sport Question

A Who Wants To Be A Millionaire contestant once walked away from the huge jackpot after he was asked a difficult sports question.

When it comes to a quiz, there are few rounds more popular than the sports round as supporters of all of the biggest sports in the world get a chance to flex their knowledge.

Of course, for most people the answers they give won't have any major impact on their lives, but that isn't the case on the popular quiz show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

Hosed in the UK by Jeremy Clarkson, the show sees contestants work their way up a ladder of increasingly difficult questions, giving them the opportunity to win £1million if they can answer the 15th and final question correctly.

But there is one man that passed on the chance to win this stunning amount of money after Clarkson asked him a sports question that the contestant felt was too difficult.

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is a popular game show across the world. (Image: Christopher Willard/Disney via Getty Images)

Back in May 2020, Andrew Townsley, a retired GP from Glasgow, left Clarkson speechless as he comfortably worked his way up the ladder without using any of his four lifelines.

The retired doctor made it to £64,000, the 11th question, before finally using one of his lifelines and eventually made it to the crucial million pound question before he was truly stumped.

"In the history of motor sport, which of these iconic races was held first?" asked Clarkson.

Townsley was then read four options: A) Le Mans 24 hours B) Monaco Grand Prix C) Indy 500 or D) Isle of Man TT.

The Scotsman was immediately hesitant to answer the question and risk losing the £500,000 he currently had in the bank, but ultimately decided to use his phone a friend lifeline to call to phone his friend Elsa.

Unfortunately, Elsa also didn't know the answer, leaving Townsley with the decision of trying to answer and risking losing his money to win the million or walking away with £500,000.

Andrew Townsley appeared in a 2020 episode of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. (Image: ITV)

After some consideration, he decided to take the money instead, before Clarkson asked him theoretically what would he have chosen if he had played on.

Brutally, he said he would have selected the Isle of Man TT, which proved to be the correct answer.

The Isle of Man TT held its inaugural event in 1907, while Indy 500 came next in 1911 with Le Mans 24hrs starting in May 1923 and the Monaco Grand Prix starting the latest, in 1929.