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When Sir Alex Ferguson Was On 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire'

When Sir Alex Ferguson Was On 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire'

The Scotsman is still fuming with his performance on the ITV quiz show...

Josh Lawless

Josh Lawless

Sir Alex Ferguson can't have too many regrets in his managerial career given he's won more trophies than any other manager.

But he's still furious about his appearance on 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire' 16 years ago alongside TV presenter and United fan Eamonn Holmes.

The legendary Manchester United boss took part on a celebrity special back in 2004 and was doing pretty well on the ITV quiz show until the £64,000 question came around.

Host Chris Tarrant asked the pair to name Tom and Barbara's pet cockerel in the TV sitcom The Good Life. 'Fergie' had never seen the show and so decided to phone a friend - enlisting the help of his former striker Brian McClair.

McClair didn't have a clue and so they used their 50-50 option before ultimately getting the question wrong, much to the Scotman's frustration.

In fact, the 13-time Premier League winning manager still hasn't got over it all these years later.

"Well, I was on it with Eamonn Holmes in 2004 and we phoned Brian McClair - but he was useless!" Sir Alex told United's official magazine.

"We had to give the name of the rooster in The Good Life. Now, I'd never seen it, so I had no idea, but the options were Stalin, Trotsky, Lenin and Rasputin.

"We were going for £64,000, so we asked the audience and there was no decisive answer. Then I phoned Brian but he had no idea either, which surprised me because, in fairness, he's a bright lad. So we used our 50-50 and it was either Trotsky or Lenin.

"We went for Trotsky and, just as we locked it in, Eamonn tells me the family in The Good Life were socialist farmers. Well, if he'd have said that earlier, I could have worked out it was Lenin! Although both were socialists, Trotsky was a bit of a dissident and became a bit of a radical. He was eventually assassinated in Mexico under Stalin's orders.

"Anyway, I wouldn't ask Brian again. My wife would be good, you know. You need somebody who has a good general knowledge of all areas, but particularly science, botany and biology. Classical music and art, as well. Those questions always crop up at the end."

Ferguson and Holmes had to settle for £32,000 but appeared on the show again in 2013, this time raising £50,000 for the Manchester United foundation.

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Topics: Football News, Football, Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson