Charles Ingram and his wife went on The Weakest Link and got rinsed by Anne Robinson

Despite a £25,000 fine, 20-month suspended prison sentence and public humiliation, Charles and Diana Ingram appeared on The Weakest Link just three years after they were found guilty for the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? coughing cheating scandal.

Ex-army major Charles Ingram and his wife Diana were caught cheating on Who Wants to Be Millionaire after they won the million-pound prize by getting an audience member, Tecwen Whittock, to cough when he heard the correct answer.

The three of them were soon found guilty after the show, fined and went down in history as nearly cheating the show with the most laughably simple technique ever.

However, despite the widespread press and terrible cheating reputation Charles and Diana received from this scandal, they were seen on The Weakest Link only three years later.

In a clip from the episode they were on, Anne Robinson, who’s mean to the even nicest contestants, wasn’t going to let them casually slip on to the show without a little rinsing. Anne asks them the question: “Diana and Charles, in classical music what sees the act of throat-clearing that members of the concert audience are traditionally asked to try to avoid?”. Charles replies: “cough” through a fake cough, and he and his wife laugh. Whether this question was a coincidence or a clever move from the producers, it was a wonderful TV moment.

This The Weakest Link episode was a celebrity guest special, featuring Lesley Garrett and Anton du Beke. However, when it got to Charles and Diana’s introduction, Charles simply describes himself as: “Charles Ingram from leafy Wiltshire, I’m an author and I’m just about to publish my first Thriller, The Network”.

Diana followed this with: “I’m here to plug his new book”. Neither of them mentioned the huge elephant in the room, which was that they cheated the last gameshow they appeared on and that this is actually how they’ve ended up on the celeb special. You can watch the full episode here.

Following their cheating scandal, the pair got pretty famous. The story inspired director James Graham, who turned it into a stage play called Quiz. He described the story as “the most British crime of all time”. This play was then adapted by  ITV who created their new drama ‘Quiz’ which everyone is currently obsessed with.

Quiz on ITV

The pair seem to have done fairly well following the attention this scandal has got them – they cheated a hugely popular, award-winning show and they’re quite loved for it.

Related stories recommended by the writer:

• Quiz: How much money would you actually win on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

• The real story of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’s secret ‘syndicate’ in Quiz

• The true story behind the Who Wants to be a Millionaire cheating scandal