The Most Shocking Game Show Scandals
Have you been tuning in religiously to see who'll win the weekly Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? (1998), or perhaps catching every episode of Survivor (2000)? Remember that feeling of joy when your favorite contestant won the big prize, or perhaps cursing at the screen because your competitor was unfairly knocked out? Well, here are the most shocking game show wins that turned out to be cheated victories.
Manhunt, Over
In 2001, the game show Manhunt (2001) appeared on TV, featuring contestants evading capture by actors posing as bounty hunters. Now-WWE superstar, John Cena, even appeared on an episode of the Paramount show. Manhunt was soon hit with accusations of favoritism and manipulation in favor of one particular contestant. The FCC axed Manhunt after just six episodes because of the controversy.
Richard And Judy's Pay-To-Play Game
The British daytime TV talk show Richard And Judy (2001), with hosts Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan, was extremely popular on Channel 4 during the mid-2000s, until, in 2007, their "You Say We Pay" game was revealed to be rigged and the winners preselected. Callers had all paid ₤1 for a chance to play a game with the hosts, but despite winners being predetermined, the lines were kept open and people kept paying.
Cactus TV, Richard & Judy (2001-2009)
Twenty-One And Out
In 1959, NBC hosted a game show called Twenty-One (1956), which had been receiving excellent viewership numbers, but wasn't quite intriguing enough for NBC execs, nor the audience. So, NBC supplied contestant Charles Van Doren with the answers and the questions to keep viewers coming back after he answered correctly each week—netting $128,000 in the process. Van Doren later admitted to the cheating before Congress and was convicted of perjury.
Macfadden Publications, Wikimedia Commons
Memory Of An Elephant
Having the "memory of an elephant" is generally a good thing—but not for Press Your Luck (1983) contestant Michael Larson, who memorized the patterns from previous games and won $110,000 in 1984. Despite not officially breaking the rules, Press Your Luck made more of an effort to randomize its patterns after Larson's win.
CBS, Press Your Luck (1983-2003)
Shazam? For Shame!
The Spanish game show Pasapalabra has contestants facing off in a guessing game of musical song names and their artists. Well, in 2014, contestant Adriana Abenia was caught cheating by using the Shazam app to get the name of the song and artist. She was caught after the phone lit up and vibrated between her legs during taping. Oops.
Antena 3 Televisión, Pasapalabra (2000-)
Charles Ingram: Major Cheat
You might think that a British Army Major would be beyond reproach, but that was not so for Charles Ingram, a contestant on the British version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire (1998). Ingram, his wife Diane, and fellow contestant Tecwen Whittock devised a plot where the latter would cough every time the presenter said the correct answer. Ingram won ₤1 million on the show, but was later charged with fraud offenses and jailed for 18 months. He was also forced to resign his commission in the British Army.
ITV, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire (1998-)
Password: WANTED
In 1988, Super Password (1984) was a popular word-association game show airing in the US. One competitor on the show was a man named Patrick Quinn, who won $58,000 on the show. Unfortunately, "Quinn" was actually a con artist named Kerry Ketchum. His appearance on the show resulted in him being apprehended for fraud.
NBC, Super Password (1984-1989)
Khaled El-Katateny's Millionaire "Win"
When 19-year-old law student Khaled El-Katateny sat in the chair of the Australian version of Millionaire: Hot Seat (2014) and won $100,000, he was accused of cheating by the show's producers—his victory spurred much debate among fans of the show as to whether he'd actually cheated. The excuse given by the law student was that he was able to read the facial expressions of the host and decide the answers based on that.
2Waytraffic, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: Hot Seat (2009-2023)
Who Wants To Marry A Fake Multimillionaire?
Long before The Bachelor (2008), there was Who Wants To Marry A Multimillionaire? (2000). In the show, 50 women competed for the hand-in-marriage of a multimillionaire. One such "multimillionaire" was Rick Rockwell, who was one of the unseen millionaires on the show—until it was revealed that Rockwell lived in a 1,200-square-foot house and was not a millionaire at all.
FOX, Who Wants To Marry A Millionaire? (2000)
The Defeat Of Herb Stempel
As well as Charles Van Doren being given answers and questions in his run to $128,000 by NBC on Twenty-One, his defeat of Herb Stempel, another contestant who'd gone far in the game show, was also scripted by NBC to bolster audience numbers. The scandal was portrayed in a movie by Robert Redford, Quiz Show (1994).
Hollywood Pictures, Quiz Show (1994)
Our Little "Genius"
In 2010, FOX almost aired Our Little Genius, a game show where child prodigies would be given a chance to win cash prizes for their families. We say, "almost", because the FCC received a letter from a contestant's parent that claimed a FOX producer had given the child a list of questions and specific answers to questions that the child needed to answer correctly. Thus, the whole show was likely staged and was pulled from the schedule.
Fired For Being Pregnant?
In 2010, Brandi Cochran was the host of The Price Is Right (1972). She seemingly had everything going for her and a bright future as the host of the popular show. She was also pregnant at the time. Soon after learning of her pregnancy, she was dismissed from the show and then sued for wrongful termination. After a successful lawsuit awarded her $775,000 in 2012 (overturned in 2013), another former host, Shane Stirling, also sued The Price Is Right for wrongful termination after alleging she was fired after getting pregnant.
No Deal, I Guess?
Deal Or No Deal (2005) allows people to play along with the show from the comfort of their homes. However, a Georgia couple, Michael and Michelle Hardin, decided to take the show's producers to court after losing the game—claiming that the game violated the state's anti-gambling laws and that they were entitled to a refund of their lost money.
NBC, Deal or No Deal (2005-2019)
Password Not Recognized
In 2010, the game show Million Dollar Money Drop (2010) aired for one season—fraught with controversy from the get-go. One such controversy stemmed from a California couple who lost $580,000 after guessing the answer to the question: "What is the most common computer password?" incorrectly. The correct answer is "123456", not "Password" as they had answered. They sued the show for $580,000 after claiming that the show's data was gathered from a single hack and therefore invalid.
FOX, Million Dollar Money Drop (2010)
The Chase Was On
Hosted by Bradley Walsh in the UK and Sara Haines in the US, The Chase is an intense display of trivia general knowledge questions by four contestants, who must work as a team to answer each question correctly before the "Chaser" (host and quiz trivia extraordinaire) can catch them out. Allegations have long been made that the game is unfair or otherwise rigged. But UK host and creator Walsh has repeatedly stated that the show has an army of lawyers to watch out for cheating and rigging.
"Wimbeton" Or "Wimbledon"?
Classic game show Jeopardy! (1964) had its moment in the controversial sun in 2012, when contestant Reid Rodgers accidentally mispronounced "Wimbledon" as "Wimbeton"—it cost him $800 in what many in the audience, and those watching at home, thought was a most unfair judgment. In Jeopardy!, words really matter.
Not-So-G On Wheel Of Fortune
In a 2012 episode of Wheel Of Fortune (1975), contestant Renee Durette mispronounced "Seven Swans A' Swimming" as, "Seven Swans A Swimmin'". Much to her (and everyone else's shock), her dropping the "G" meant that her answer was incorrect and she lost the round. A social media uproar followed, but the show stood by its decision.
Sony, Wheel of Fortune (1975-)
A Flip-Flopping Contestant Leaves Bob Barker Unamused
A contestant named Brenton went onto The Price Is Right with Bob Barker and wasn't a good sport about the game of "Flip Flop", where one is supposed to press either a "Flip" or "Flop" button to uncover the price of an item on a flipped or flopped square. Brenton decided to press the button that revealed the item's actual price, leaving Bob Barker aghast. Brenton got the prize, but Barker was not happy about it.
CBS, The Price Is Right (1972-)
Lucky Letter "L"
Another Wheel of Fortune scandal that left Pat Sajak flustered was when contestant Caitlin Burke used her home-play knowledge of the show and the knowledge that "I've" is one of the most common sentence contractions in English to win with just one letter guessed. She guessed "I've Got A Good Feeling About This", with just an "L" as a clue. It was correct and Sajak didn't know what to say.
Sony, Wheel of Fortune (1975-)
When A Gong Show Really Is A "Gong Show"
Chuck Barris was the host of The Gong Show (1976) from its inception until 1980. It was known for its "anything can happen" atmosphere and filled with everyday folk looking for their one-way ticket to fame. Well, in 1980, the unthinkable happened—after the show was canceled, in the final episode, Barris said, "You can take this job and shove it!" and flipped off the camera, live on-air.
NBC Television Network., Wikimedia Commons
Alex Trebek's Penchant For Proper Spelling
Kids need to learn how to spell properly, right? Well, for Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek, spelling things correctly was something he really took to heart, as did the executives at Jeopardy!. Trebek hosted a Jeopardy! for kids episode in 2013, wherein a 12-year-old boy, Thomas Hurley III, answered a question correctly... but he'd misspelled it. The answer was therefore incorrect. Trebek counted it against the boy and social media went nuts.
Mike Richards' Very-Short Jeopardy! Tenure
While Jeopardy! host Mike Richards may not have been fired for misspelling a word, he certainly was fired for making derogatory comments about women in the past. Mike Richards turned out to be the show's executive producer who had seemingly awarded himself the position of host in 2020 after the passing of Alex Trebek. He was fired from that role immediately, too.
The Moment Of Truth Reveals All
The Moment Of Truth (2008) was a game show where contestants were attached to a polygraph and answered questions that the host got from their significant other. It was FOX's newest show in 2008 and was a predictable dumpster fire. On one episode, Lauren and Frank Cleri's marriage ended when it was revealed that Lauren had cheated on Frank with Lauren's ex-boyfriend. The confession came on national television, no less. Ouch.
FOX, The Moment Of Truth (2008)
Bullseye Gets A Criminal
You might not have heard of Bullseye (1981)—it's a British-based game show wherein contestants play darts against each other, competing for a grand prize. In 1989, John Cooper appeared on the show. Unbeknownst to the show's producers, he was a double-murderer, wanted since 1985 for the slaying of Peter and Gwenda Dixon. Based on Bullseye footage and a suspect sketch, police were able to identify and arrest Cooper in 2011.
Post-It Note Nets $800,000 On Million Dollar Drop
When Gabe Okoye and Brittany Mayte appeared on Million Dollar Drop (2010), little did they know that appearance would spark an internet furor and be the end of their relationship. After rising to an $800,000 prize, on their way to $1 million, they answered "Post-It" when asked whether the Post-It Note or the Walkman was sold first in-stores. Their answer was technically incorrect, despite everyone thinking they were right. Walkmans were sold first, even though Post-It Notes were invented first.
FOX, Million Dollar Money Drop (2010)
Rodney Alcala's Appearance On The Dating Game
Back in 1978, The Dating Game (1965) was a popular dating show that followed the format of a blind date. Rodney Alcala was one such contestant on The Dating Game in '78, but at the time he was also a serial killer who was convicted of five murders between 1977 and 1979.
