Eagle-eyed fans have spotted an 'inaccurate' question regarding snooker player Ronnie O’Sullivan on the TV show ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?’ – with host Jeremy Clarkson left red-faced.
Clarkson, 64, is best known for his 13-year stint as host of the popular British motoring TV programme Top Gear.
But in recent years, he has branched out by writing for various British newspapers as well as taking over from Chris Tarrant – who left the role in 2014 – as presenter of the re-commissioned show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.
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However, things did not go to plan in an episode aired on Sunday, October 2024, when Clarkson asked the question: “Which event has been won a record number of times by the Englishman Ronnie O’Sullivan?”
The four options to choose from were:
A) World Snooker Championship
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B) Men’s Olympic 100 metres
C) Rugby League World Cup
D) WBC heavyweight boxing championship
£1000 was on the line for the contestant who did choose the correct answer, which was the World Snooker Championship - allowing them to continue to the next question.
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However, fans spotted what they thought was a huge error in the question.
Technically, O’Sullivan and Stephen Hendry jointly hold the record – sitting on seven titles apiece.
Viewers took to social media to voice their opinions on the matter.
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One said: “It's [the question] not inaccurate. You're making an assumption as to what the record is.
“Since it isn't explicitly stated, you don't know for sure. He holds [Ronnie O’Sullivan] the record for the most times the World Snooker Championship has been won by someone called Ronnie."
With another saying: “I think this is all a bit pedantic, isn't it? I mean, super technically, the question is factually spot on. Ronnie holds the record for most wins in the modern era, a record he shares with [Stephen] Hendry.
“The fact that he shares the record doesn't mean he doesn't have it. On Joe Davis, the question doesn't ask who has won the title the most times, just which event Ronnie holds a record in.”
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A third added: “If he is the joint record holder, then it has been won a record number of times by him.”
Fans pointed out that Joe Davies won the World Snooker Championship a record 15 times between 1927 and 1946. But Davies’ achievements were before the ‘modern era’ that is deemed to have started in 1969 when the BBC commissioned the ‘Pot Black’ format of the sport. SPORTbible have contacted ITV for comment.
Topics: Ronnie OSullivan, Snooker, World Snooker Championship
Luke Alfred Davies