<P> The original British version of the show debuted on 4 September 1998, and aired on ITV with Chris Tarrant as its host until 11 February 2014 . International variants have aired in around 160 countries worldwide . The show's format is a twist on the game show genre--only one contestant plays at a time (similar to some radio quizzes), and the emphasis is on suspense rather than speed . In most versions there are no time limits to answer the questions, and contestants are given the question before they must decide whether to attempt an answer . </P> <P> The contestants must first play a preliminary round, called "Fastest Finger First" (or, in the U.S. version, simply "Fastest Finger"), where they are all given a question and four answers from the host and are asked to put those four answers into a particular order; in the first series of the British version and in pre-2003 episodes of the Australian version, the round instead required the contestants to answer one multiple - choice question correctly as quickly as possible . The contestant who does so correctly and in the fastest time goes on to play the main game for the maximum possible prize (often a million units of the local currency). In the event that two or more contestants are tied for the fastest time, those contestants play another question to break the tie . If no one gets the question right, that question is discarded and another question is played in the same manner . If any contestants are visually impaired, the host reads the question and four choices all at once, then repeats the choices after the music begins . </P> <P> Main game contestants are asked increasingly difficult general knowledge questions by the host . Questions are multiple choice: four possible answers are given (labelled A, B, C and D), and the contestant must choose the correct one . The' D' answer on the first question (except in the Shuffle format like in the US version) is always incorrect and humorous . Upon answering a question correctly, the contestant wins a certain amount of money . In most versions, there is no time limit to answer a question; a contestant may (and often does) take as long as they need to ponder an answer . After the first few questions, the host will ask the contestant if that is their "final answer". When a contestant says "final" in conjunction with one of the answers, it is official, and cannot be changed . The first five questions usually omit this rule, because the questions are generally so easy that requiring a final answer would significantly slow the game down; thus, there are five chances for the contestant to leave with no money if they were to provide a wrong answer before obtaining the first guaranteed amount; going for 1,000 units of currency after winning 500 units is the last point in the game at which a contestant can still leave empty - handed . </P> <P> Subsequent questions are played for increasingly large sums, roughly doubling at each turn . The first few questions often have some joke answers . On episodes of the UK version aired between 1998 and 2007, the payout structure was as follows: first going from £ 100 to £ 300 in increments of £ 100, then from £ 500 to £ 64,000 with the pound value doubling for each new question, and finally from £ 125,000 to £ 1,000,000 with the pound value doubling for each new question . </P>

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