| Host | |
| Eddie McGuire | |
| Broadcast | |
   | |
| Packager | |
| Grundy Television (1999-2006) 2waytraffic (2007-2010) Sony Pictures Television (2021) | |
This is about the Australian version of one of television's most successful formats in the world. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? is based on the British gameshow of the same name where one contestant has to answer 15 multiple choice questions (11 questions in 1999) correctly in order to win $1,000,000 ($5,000,000 in 2007).
The show was revived for a short time in January 2021 on the Nine Network under the name "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?: Special Events".
Gameplay[]
10 contestants (minus the ones who already played) played a qualifying round called Fastest Finger for the right to play for the $1,000,000. In the first few series, a question was asked and the first to answer with the correct answer played for $1,000,000. Later series required the contestants to put four answers in the proper order. If a mistake was made, the player could hit the Delete button and re-start, but once the OK button was hit, the answers were locked in. The first contestant to answer correctly or place the answers in the proper order earned a chance to play for the million. If two or more contestants tied for the fastest time, the tied contestants would play another question to determine who would move on to play. If nobody got the question right, that question was thrown out; another question was played in the same manner. If any of the contestants were visually-impaired, the host would read the question and four choices all at once (which were included in an envelope), then repeat the choices after the music began. The "Fastest Finger" round was dropped for the 2007 revival.
In the main game the host asked up to 15 questions (11 in the first series). Each question had four possible answers (A, B, C & D). All the contestant had to do was to choose the one that is correct. The answer was not official until the contestant confirmed it by saying "Lock it in, Eddie." If they were correct, the contestant won money for that question and moved on to the next, but if at any time the contestant chose an incorrect answer, the game was over and the contestant wins the money they achieved at the last safety net or, if they had not reached a safety net, won nothing at all.
For the 2007 revival there was a 16th question worth $5,000,000. This was the most money ever offered in in Australian television history until The Wall in 2017 (which offered a potential maximum of almost exactly $12,375,000).
Money Trees[]
18.04.1999 - 08.04.2000[]
| Question No. |
Correct Answer Value |
Walk Away Value |
Miss Answer Value |
Amount Lost for a Wrong Answer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | $1,000,000 | $500,000 | $32,000 | $468,000 |
| 10 | $500,000 | $250,000 | $218,000 | |
| 9 | $250,000 | $125,000 | $93,000 | |
| 8 | $125,000 | $64,000 | $32,000 | |
| 7 | $64,000 | $32,000 | $0 | |
| 6 | $32,000 | $16,000 | $1,000 | $15,000 |
| 5 | $16,000 | $8,000 | $7,000 | |
| 4 | $8,000 | $4,000 | $3,000 | |
| 3 | $4,000 | $2,000 | $1,000 | |
| 2 | $2,000 | $1,000 | $0 | |
| 1 | $1,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
22.05.2000 - 03.04.2006, 27.02 - 06.03.2010[]
| Question No. |
Correct Answer Value |
Walk Away Value |
Miss Answer Value |
Amount Lost for a Wrong Answer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | $1,000,000 | $500,000 | $32,000 | $468,000 |
| 14 | $500,000 | $250,000 | $218,000 | |
| 13 | $250,000 | $125,000 | $93,000 | |
| 12 | $125,000 | $64,000 | $32,000 | |
| 11 | $64,000 | $32,000 | $0 | |
| 10 | $32,000 | $16,000 | $1,000 | $15,000 |
| 9 | $16,000 | $8,000 | $7,000 | |
| 8 | $8,000 | $4,000 | $3,000 | |
| 7 | $4,000 | $2,000 | $1,000 | |
| 6 | $2,000 | $1,000 | $0 | |
| 5 | $1,000 | $500 | $0 | $500 |
| 4 | $500 | $300 | $300 | |
| 3 | $300 | $200 | $200 | |
| 2 | $200 | $100 | $100 | |
| 1 | $100 | $0 | $0 |
22.10 - 26.11.2007[]
| Question No. |
Correct Answer Value |
Walk Away Value |
Miss Answer Value |
Amount Lost for a Wrong Answer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | $5,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $32,000 | $968,000 |
| 15 | $1,000,000 | $500,000 | $468,000 | |
| 14 | $500,000 | $250,000 | $218,000 | |
| 13 | $250,000 | $125,000 | $93,000 | |
| 12 | $125,000 | $64,000 | $32,000 | |
| 11 | $64,000 | $32,000 | $0 | |
| 10 | $32,000 | $16,000 | $1,000 | $15,000 |
| 9 | $16,000 | $8,000 | $7,000 | |
| 8 | $8,000 | $4,000 | $3,000 | |
| 7 | $4,000 | $2,000 | $1,000 | |
| 6 | $2,000 | $1,000 | $0 | |
| 5 | $1,000 | $500 | $0 | $500 |
| 4 | $500 | $300 | $300 | |
| 3 | $300 | $200 | $200 | |
| 2 | $200 | $100 | $100 | |
| 1 | $100 | $0 | $0 |
Lifelines[]
If by chance a contestant was stuck on a question, he/she could call for a lifeline, thereby giving the contestant an added advantage. The contestant could use more than one lifeline on a question, but each lifeline could be used only once.
- 50:50 – Two incorrect answers were discarded by the computer leaving only one incorrect answer & the correct answer, of course.
- Ask the Audience – The audience was given the same question as the contestant, and their job was to vote on which answer they thought was correct by pressing one of four lettered buttons on their keypads.
- Phone-a-Friend – The contestant could call a friend or family member and ask the current question for 30 seconds, and the phoned friend gave his/her answer.
- Switch the Question – If the contestant thought that question was too hard to answer, he/she could ask the computer eliminate that question and generate a new one. This lifeline was only given after answering the $32,000 question, and was only available in the 2007 revival.
Should the contestant run out of lifelines, he/she from here on out would have the option to stop and take any money he/she won up to that point. Upon deciding to stop, the contestant was asked by the host, "Is that your final decision?" However, should the contestant miss a question, the contestant won safety net money should he/she answer the 5th or 10th questions.
Millionaires[]
There have only been two millionaires in the Australian version of the show:
- Rob "Coach" Fulton - October 17, 2005
| Which of these popular 60s TV shows premiered first? | |
| • A: Bewitched | • B: Get Smart |
| • C: Hogan's Heroes | • D: I Dream of Jeannie |
- Martin Flood - November 11, 2005 (Used the 50:50 lifeline in the final question)
| Who was never 'Time' magazine's 'Man of the Year? | |
| • A: Adolf Hitler | • B: Ayatollah Khomeini |
| • C: Joseph Stalin | • D: Mao Zedong |
2010 specials[]
On 27 February 2010, a prime time special called Whizz Kids: Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? was broadcast in which teams of students tried to win up to $1,000,000 for their school. Another episode was broadcast on 6 March 2010.
The special used the original format. Two lifelines also changed slightly. The Phone a Friend lifeline was called Phone the Teacher, students being able to call a teacher from their school. Also, as the show was prerecorded, the teachers had to be in a room where they could not see or hear the questions and answers in the studio to prevent them from looking up the answers through books or online or asking other teachers for the answer. The second lifeline change was that the Ask the Audience lifeline was called Ask the School, in which students from the contestants' school could vote using electronic keypads while they were watching the show being recorded. In addition, the "Switch the Question" lifeline was no longer available.
In total, the three schools, Engadine High School in NSW, Blackburn High School in Victoria and Frankston High School, also in Victoria, won $258,000 (the latter walked away with $8,000 whilst the remaining two schools won $125,000). The answers to the questions in which they walked away wounded up being wrong. Also, joke answers were introduced in these specials (most notably for the D choice), such as in a question about what attracts magnets in the second episode, a D) choice was offered as All the single ladies. For the record, the answer was 'iron' (but only after the Blackburn students asked the school).
Music[]
From 1999 until 2004, the show used the same melody as the original British version's theme by Keith and Matthew Strachan, except in a different rock-like style. From 2004 until 2006, the show used a slightly different version of the tune fit for the new intro. For the 2007 and 2010 revivals, the show used a remixed version of the tune by Ramon Covalo, with question beds by Nick Magnus. The original question bed music was the same as the international question bed music by the Strachans.