Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel in ‘dodgy fix’ row as viewers slam ‘easy’ final question which landed contestant huge prize
THE Wheel has been hit with more “dodgy fix” claims after fans accused Michael McIntyre’s show of deliberately posing an “easy” last question.
Contestant Callum found himself in the final hot seat on this weekend’s The Wheel and chose to pair up with lowest celebrity scorer Angela Scanlon.
This meant he was in line to scoop a top prize fund of £86,000 if they could answer their question correctly.
Callum was faced with the categories Flags, Movies and Sausages.
He told host Michael that hoped for “movies, movies, movies” when asked which category he’d ideally want his cash-out question to come from.
And as if luck would have it, seconds later The Wheel landed on Movies.
“Oooh, oh, Callum,” Michael said. “I’ve got to tell you, it’s so rare that happens. It’s always a one in three but I always ask people and it very rarely lands.”
Callum’s good fortune then went one step further when the self-confessed Avengers fan was quizzed about The Avengers.
He was asked: “In which of these films does a British-born actor star as the title character?”
The multiple choice answers were: Thor, Captain Marvel and Black Widow.
Looking chuffed as the 30-second clock began ticking, Callum told Angela: “Okay, so I’m an absolutely huge, huge Marvel fan.
“Thank God, go on,” Angela replied.
Callum proceeded to tell Angela that Australian actor Chris Hemsworth plays Thor, American actress Brie Larson plays Captain Marvel and that fellow American Scarlett Johansson plays Black Widow.
Angela butted in: “Dr Strange is Benedict Cumberbatch.”
Making a joke about his name, Callum agreed: “Doctor Strange is Benedict Cucumber Patch, so it’s got to be Dr Strange.”
Getting excited, Angela urged: “It’s him, it’s him!”
Callum nervously tapped his knees with both hands and briefly closed his eyes after locking in Dr Strange.
Irish broadcaster Angela, meanwhile sat with her head resting on her hands in a prayer pose.
After a tense few seconds, it was confirmed Callum had answered correctly, meaning sure he walked away with the top prize fund.
He put his head in his hands as the studio lit up in gold with £86,000 plastered on a huge screen.
But fans at home felt the final had been fixed for Callum to end up with the top sum of money in his pocket, as the question had been so easy.
Complaining on X, formerly known as Twitter, one viewer wrote: “What a pathetically easy question for 86k!!!”
Another added: “I’m sorry what?! 86k just because you know Benedict Cumberbatch is British? That’s crazy sign me tf up now!”
A third remarked: “How easy was that question?”
And someone else raged: “They were very easy questions, dodgy fix there.”
This is the second week in a row that fans have accused The Wheel of being ‘fixed’.
Hardest Quiz Show Questions
Would you know the answers to some of quizzing TV's hardest questions
- Who Wants To Be A Millionaire – Earlier this year, fans were left outraged after what they described as the “worst” question in the show’s history. Host Jeremy Clarkson asked: “From the 2000 awards ceremony onwards, the Best Actress Oscar has never been won by a woman whose surname begins with which one of these letters?” The multiple choice answers were between G, K, M and W. In the end, and with the £32,000 safe, player Glen had to make a guess and went for G. It turned out to be correct as Nicole Kidman, Frances McDormand and Kate Winslet are among the stars who have won the Best Actress gong since 2000.
- The 1% Club – Viewers of Lee Mack’s popular ITV show were left dumbfounded by a question that also left the players perplexed. The query went as follows: “Edna’s birthday is on the 6th of April and Jen’s birthday falls on the 15th of October, therefore Amir’s birthday must be the ‘X’ of January.” It turns out the conundrum links the numbers with its position in the sentence, so 6th is the sixth word and 15th is the fifteenth word. Therefore, Amir’s birthday is January 24th, corresponding to the 24th word in the sentence.
- The Chase – The ITV daytime favourite left fans scratching their heads when it threw up one of the most bizarre questions to ever grace the programme. One of the questions asked the player: “Someone with a nightshade intolerance should avoid eating what?” The options were – sweetcorn, potatoes, carrots – with Steve selecting sweetcorn but the correct answer was potatoes.
Last Saturday saw mum-of-two Hala pocket £21,500 on the final question.
Earlier in the show, Hala had revealed that she would use any winnings to help her get married again.
She explained how, 10 years before, she had been hospitalised with a rare disorder that left her unable to walk and she had married her husband from her hospital bed.
Cynical fans felt Hala – who was partnered with Jonathan Ross – was set to win after being asked which member of The Beatles played bass guitar.
In echos of the latest show, one viewer moaned at the time: “The last question was ridiculously easy!”