Quiz contestant to sue over length of the Amazon

Warrington, England, Sunday June17th 2007 - Terry Copthorne, a laboratory technician, of Warrington, Cheshire, England, today announced that he had started proceedings to sue Celador, makers of the popular television quiz programme Who wants to be a Millionaire? for £1million, which represents the amount of money he could have received had the company been aware of the true facts concerning the actual relative lengths of the Amazon and Nile rivers. "My geography teacher, Earl Bretton, had always taught us that although the common perception was that the Nile was longer, there was enough evidence available, even then, that the Amazon was the longest river in the world". "He taught us that in 1972 and I have always used it as a yardstick in quizzes and tests ever since, and argued the case when challenged". " I did so in this case, and as a result lost £250,000, which was the value of a correct answer at this stage in the game. However, my principles were just as important to me as the money. Now I have been fully vindicated and I want a reward for my integrity".

In the show, broadcast in August 2004, Terry had to choose between four options. The host, Chris Tarrant, sought the answer to the question "Which is the longest river in the world?" The options presented were:

• A The Nile
• B The Yangtze
• C The Amazon
• D The Po

Terry prevaricated and gave his reasoning for choosing the Amazon after much thought. His answer was rejected, as the prevailing knowledge at the time was that the Nile deserved this distinction. As a result, he feels that he not only lost £250,000 directly, but that he also missed the opportunity to go for the ultimate quiz show prize of £1million.

There were other consequences for Terry: "This lack of knowledge on behalf of Celador also led to the death of my brother-in-law, who was bludgeoned to death following an argument in a South Manchester pub the day the quiz was aired"."I will have to live with the consequences of that until the day I die.", said Terry. Terry also blames the show for the break up of his fourth marriage and the death of his dog Mr. Dahl, named after the famous children's author.

PA