Jeremy Clarkson forced to intervene as Tony Bellew struggles to answer £100 question on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire

Tony Bellew was moments away from walking away with nothing on the latest episode of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire until presenter Jeremy Clarkson stepped in to save the day.

The former WBC cruiserweight champion appeared on Sunday night's celebrity edition of the ITV show in a bid to win £1 million for his chosen charity, Alder Hey Children's Hospital.

Despite calling himself "stupid" and downplaying his intelligence on numerous occasions, Bellew answered 10 questions correctly before walking away with £64,000.

But things could have been very different for the Liverpudlian, who needed help from former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson after being completely stumped by the opening £100 question.

Shortly after sitting down in the famous chair, Clarkson asked: "Which of these is a term meaning to socialise with other people, especially those who are deemed important? Digestive, Shortbread, Ginger Nut or Hobnob."

Bellew, baffled by the four possible answers, said: "I'm not going to lie, I've never heard of this phrase before."

After mentioning he had "helped" contestants at this stage before, a far-from-discrete Clarkson then gave away the answer – Hobnob – under his breath and Bellew locked in his final answer to progress.

To hobnob is to spend time or hang out with someone, especially at a social event, according to Vocabulary. "When you're invited to a fancy benefit party at a museum, you might get to hobnob with socialites and minor celebrities," the website states.

"When you hobnob, you mingle or pal around with fancy folks. People who work in book publishing occasionally get to hobnob with writers, and if you get a job on a movie set, you may have a chance to hobnob with movie stars."

Bellew later commented that a question about the film Ocean's Eleven was "easier" than the £100 one.

Bellew won £64,000 for the Children’s charity. Image credit: ITV

Here's how social media reacted to Bellew's cameo on the show.

One said: "I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Tony Bellew is a modern-day gentleman," and a second commented: "Tony Bellew... one of the nicest people on the planet... Delighted he won big for a great charity."

A third wrote: "Tony Bellew and Jeremy Clarkson are a double act I never knew I needed."

A fourth said: "Getting the impression that Tony Bellew isn’t a fan of hobnobs," and a fifth added: "Tony Bellew, what an excellent and down to earth fellow."