<P> Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? has been credited with single - handedly reviving interest in, and breaking new ground for, the television game show . It revolutionised the look and feel of game shows with its unique lighting system, dramatic music cues, and futuristic set . The show also became one of the most popular game shows in television history, and is credited by some with paving the way for the phenomenon of reality programming . </P> <P> In 2000, the British Film Institute honoured the UK version of Millionaire by ranking it number 23 on its "BFI TV 100" list, which compiled what British television industry professionals believed were the greatest programmes to have ever originated from that country . The UK Millionaire also won the 1999 British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Programme, and four National Television Awards for Most Popular Quiz Programme from 2002 to 2005 . </P> <P> The original primetime version of the U.S. Millionaire won two Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Game / Audience Participation Show in 2000 and 2001 . Philbin was honoured with a Daytime Emmy in the category of Outstanding Game Show Host in 2001, while Vieira received one in 2005 and another in 2009, making her the second woman to win an Emmy Award for hosting a game show, and the first to win multiple times . TV Guide ranked the U.S. Millionaire No. 7 on its 2001 list of the 50 Greatest Game Shows of All Time, and later ranked it No. 6 on its 2013 "60 Greatest Game Shows" list . GSN ranked Millionaire No. 5 on its August 2006 list of the 50 Greatest Game Shows of All Time, and later honoured the show in January 2007 on its first, and so far only, Gameshow Hall of Fame special . </P> <P> In April 2003, British Army Major Charles Ingram, his wife Diana, and college lecturer Tecwen Whittock were convicted of using fraudulent means to win £ 1 million on the UK version of the show when Ingram was a contestant on the show in September 2001 . The allegation was that when Tarrant asked a question, Whittock, one of that episode's nine other Fastest Finger First contestants, would cough to guide Ingram to the correct answer . Ingram won the £ 1 million top prize, but members of the production staff raised suspicions over Whittock's coughing along with the Ingrams' behaviour after the recording, and the police were called in to investigate . The defence claimed that Whittock simply suffered from allergies; however, all three were found guilty and given suspended sentences . After the trial, ITV aired a documentary about the scandal, along with Ingram's entire game, complete with Whittock's coughing sounds . As a joke, Benylin cough syrup paid to have the first commercial shown during the programme's commercial break . </P>

When did who wants to be a millionare start