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- guardian.co.uk, Tuesday November 21 2000 13.39 GMT
Last night's Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? jackpot programme attracted 3m more viewers than the last ever One Foot In The Grave, according to unofficial figures released today.
BBC insiders accused ITV of fixing the quiz show to ensure that its first jackpot winner would coincide with the final episode of its long-running sitcom.
According to the unofficial figures released by the TV companies, an average of 13.9m people tuned in to watch 58-year-old Judith Keppel, a distant relative of Camilla Parker Bowles, become the first £1m jackpot winner. Viewing figures peaked at 14.9m but then dipped to 12.7m after she won the prize.
The last episode of One Foot In The Grave, which showed the death of Victor Meldrew, attracted an average of 10.7m viewers, peaking at 11.6m.
But the BBC claimed an "excellent evening" of viewing figures for the channel. "I'm sure Victor Meldrew couldn't believe it that the figures were so great, despite what ITV tried to throw at it. One Foot In The Grave has always been a popular show and it was an excellent evening for the BBC," a spokeswoman said.
Viewers of the 122nd episode of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? saw Mrs Keppel become the first contestant to successfully negotiate the 15 questions needed to scoop the jackpot.
But a BBC insider said that the last big winner had also occurred when there was an important ratings battle taking place. "It is a bit of a coincidence," said the BBC insider. "Call me suspicious but it seems to me you can drastically improve your chances of becoming a millionaire if you check your BBC1 schedule before going on the programme."
ITV reacted furiously to the accusations, accusing its rival of "unpleasant and unfounded attacks". A spokesman for the network said: "It is a great shame to see the BBC reacting with such cynicism. In doing so they are ignoring the facts: Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? has been winning the ratings battle with One Foot In The Grave for weeks now."
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