Entertainment

The First Photo Of Michael Sheen As Chris Tarrant Is Here & It's Creepy AF

by Aoife Hanna
Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

A super fun game to play is "who would play you in a film of your life?" As a regular old pleb, it's a thought that doesn't carry much weight, but FYI, mine is Courtney Love in 1993. Obviously. However for the more illustrious stars of this world it's a given. And not just that, probably a bit of a concern. Especially because it would be lit AF to see who they get to play you before you kick the bucket. So one can't help but wonder how the first photos of Michael Sheen as Chris Tarrant left the famous presenter feeling.

Tarrant is, of course, the former presenter of one of the biggest game shows in history — Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. Because yes guys, ITV are making a flipping drama about it. Yes, I too am incredibly intrigued and want to know absolutely everything.

Anybody vaguely familiar with the show won't take long to figure out which famous event they're dramatising. Nope, not people giving truly dumbfounding answers (although I'm totally here for that). Hell no guys, it is all about the famous case of the man who won a million pounds on the game show. And an audience member who for some reason seemed to have an awful cough.

The picture of Sheen, with the perfectly hay blonde hair Tarrant is known and loved for, is pretty uncanny — the eyes! — but it had a few fans worried about his gorgeous curls. Has he had a dye job and some chemical straightening? Because I'm not sure how I feel about it at all. Well don't worry guys, he took to his Twitter account to let fans know that his lovely barnet is happy as a clam under a very convincing wig cap. Posting a photo of the TV presenter on his Twitter feed he added:

"This is who I’m playing at the moment. (Curls still intact under bald cap!) #WhoWantsToBeABaldy"

So what's this coughing all about? You might ask. Well as ITV reports, Major Charles Ingram, his wife Diana, and an accomplice Tecwen Whittock who was sat in the studio audience were accused of come serious subterfuge. Back in 2001 they were under suspicion of literally coughing loudly to help Charles answer the questions, leading to him winning the show. The Ingrams, who have denied any wrong doing, stood trial for this and I won't tell you the outcome because duh, I don't want to ruin the show for you (but if you want to find out, here's the BBC report at the trial's close).

The three part drama, titled Quiz, is being directed by Stephen Frears, who also helmed Philomena. The script is written by James Graham, who spoke to ITV about how the case gripped him from start to finish.

"I was gripped by this story over 15 years ago, and I’m still gripped now. It’s a very English heist. Putting it onto stage at Chichester and the West End was such a lot of fun, and with a new team we now get to re-imagine the whole story afresh for television. I have to pay credit to the late investigative journalist Bob Woffinden, who along with James Plaskett wrote the book Bad Show that kicked the whole creative process off by asking the question – what if the Major is innocent?"

The show's release date has yet to be announced but one thing for sure is that this whole peculiar case and a look behind the scenes of what went on at the time should make for some excellent viewing.