The Million Pound Drop

The Million Pound Drop
Genre Game show
Presented by
Theme music composer Marc Sylvan
Country of origin United Kingdom
Original language(s) English
No. of series
  • 13 (Regular)
  • 2 (Christmas)
  • 1 (Celebrity)
No. of episodes
  • 117 (Regular)
  • 9 (Christmas)
  • 8 (Celebrity)
Production
Running time 60–120 minutes (inc. adverts)
Production company(s) Remarkable Television
Distributor Endemol UK
Release
Original network Channel 4
Picture format 576i 16:9 (SDTV)
Original release 24 May 2010 (2010-05-24) – 20 March 2015 (2015-03-20)
Chronology
Related shows Million Dollar Money Drop (U.S.)
External links
Website
Production website

The Million Pound Drop (formerly The Million Pound Drop Live) is a BAFTA-winning game show which broadcasts on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom. The show began on 24 May 2010 and ended on 20 March 2015 with Davina McCall having presented the show's eleven series.[1][2]

The show uses social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to find contestants, and also to promote the show. David Flynn, managing director of Endemol's Remarkable Television, which produced the show, said: "The plan was to create buzz and an air of mystery around the show by trickling information about auditions via Twitter and Facebook, giving fans a level of exclusivity."[3]

On 8 March 2016 Channel 4 announced that they had axed the show, in a bid to save money. Reruns of the old series are currently broadcast on Challenge.[4]

Format

Contestants, alone or in pairs for the first series, or only in pairs for all subsequent series, are given one million pounds in £50 notes at the start of the show, banded in 40 bundles of £25,000. They must then answer eight questions in an effort to keep as much of their money as possible. Many questions are heavily focused on current or recent events (even events that occur during the airing of the show) with the words of "this week", "today" even "right now", to push the fact that the show is broadcast live.

At the beginning of each round, the contestants have to pick a category of two choices they are given. If the contestants take too long to choose, a coin is flipped to decide. Each question is multiple-choice, with the first four questions having four choices, the next three questions having three, and the final question having just two choices. Unlike a traditional quiz where the contestants pick one answer, however, it is possible for the contestants to hedge by placing money (in multiples of £25,000) on multiple answers in proportion to how confident they are on the answer. However, one answer must always be left with no money on it, which ensures that on the final question, only one answer can be chosen. Contestants who leave the money on all of the answers are generally disqualified from the game, except in some international versions of the show. After the answers and question have been read out, the contestants have one minute to physically move their money onto trapdoors (called "drops") corresponding to the answer(s) they choose. If contestants are sure of their answer, they may choose to stop the clock before the time limit is up to carry on with the answers.

After the end of the time limit, the trapdoors relating to incorrect answers open (sometimes one by one, and with varying delays to increase suspense), and any money placed on those answers is no longer available to be won by the contestants, being picked up by security guards underneath the stage. In addition any money not placed by the end of the time limit is also lost. If they have any money left, they proceed to the next question where the process is repeated. However, if they lose all their money, they are out of the game.

Episodes usually last between 60 and 90 minutes, although the last episode of the series may end slightly sooner or later depending on the contestants' performance. On 23 June 2012, for the first time in the show's history, the episode was extended to 120 minutes. The following week's episode on 30 June 2012 was 100 minutes.

For the 2010 Christmas specials, any contestants who lost all their money and would otherwise have left empty-handed were presented with multiple doors corresponding to bonus prizes. The contestants would choose which door they wanted and would win what was 'behind' that door. From the 2011 Christmas specials onwards, a new feature was introduced where online players can now play against each other and also a money counter on the drops themselves which shows how much money is placed on each drop instead of the players having to count the money.

On 2 January 2012, as part of the Channel 4 Mash-up, Davina played the game with Andrew, her father; the show was hosted by Phil Spencer from Location, Location, Location. A second Channel 4 Mash-up happened in 2013, the show this time being hosted by Alan Carr.

2013 changes

Significant changes to the format were made in summer 2013 for the tenth series. Teams of four, rather than just being strictly pairs, can now play the game. At each question, the player(s) can swap positions with their team mates – two backstage watching, the other two at the Drop answering the questions. Unlike previous series, there are now just seven questions and no question categories (if a team is playing).

Contestants are now be able to win cash if they make it to (and answer) question seven correctly. At this point, the contestants will be shown two possible answers to question eight (known as the "Final Drop") and if they proceed with the question, they have the chance to double their prize fund (so a perfect game is now worth £2,000,000). If they gamble and get the question correct, they walk away with double of their original winnings; but if they get it wrong, they'll lose everything and leave with nothing.

2014 changes

Starting from summer 2014, contestants can play as individuals again after four years. Prior to that, only Gemma in the very first UK series, and five contestants in the Chinese version, had played the Drop as individuals in their countries. This is also the first regular series to be pre-recorded due to time constraints.

Interactivity

As the show is broadcast live, viewers are encouraged to play along on their smartphones via the iOS and Android apps, or on the Channel 4 website. Aggregated statistics of the audience performance appear on screen during the broadcast and being read out by McCall.[3] Online players receive no prize money but are sometimes given the chance to apply to be on the show. Bookmakers also take bets on which stage of the game the contestants will leave and how much money will still be in play at various stage of the game.[5] Often on the show, if there is a question relating to a particular online source, Davina will announce that the website in question has crashed due to a large amount of online players looking up the answers. Later series added the show's application for them to play on their tablets. The interactivity is provided by London second screen company Monterosa.

Celebrity contestants

Since series two, celebrity contestants regularly appear on the show playing for charity. Celebrity contestants that lose their whole £1,000,000 are given £5,000 for their charities.

Celebrities who have appeared on the show include the following:

Specials

The Channel 4 Mash-up

On 2 January 2012, a special version of the show aired as part of The Channel 4 Mash-up. The special edition was hosted by Phil Spencer and featured Davina and her father, Andrew, as contestants. This special edition was not broadcast live, as the show usually is, but instead was shown in three pre-recorded 20 minute chunks spread throughout the 'mash-up night' at 18:35, 19:55 and 21:40. Davina and her father made it through to the final question with £50,000 but placed their money on the incorrect answer and lost.

The show returned on 4 January 2013 with Alan Carr as host. The contestants were: Sherrie Hewson, Lisa Maxwell, Jane McDonald, Denise Welch, Alexander Armstrong and Richard Bacon.

Stand Up to Cancer

On 19 October 2012, a special version aired live as part of Channel 4's UK telethon, Stand Up to Cancer. For this show, the million pounds was doubled (thus making it The Two Million Pound Drop) and a special 16-player celebrity relay team took on the drop for cancer-related charities. A different pair of celebrities handled each question, with the show airing in two segments — questions 1 to 4 at 21:00 and questions 5–8 were later in the evening. Each pair was given just 30 seconds, instead of the usual 60 seconds, for their question.

McCall switched back and forth between the live telethon, hosted alongside Alan Carr and Dr Christian Jessen, and the two Drop segments. The celebrity relay banked £200,000 for Stand Up to Cancer, with the final four pairs wagering the entire amount on a single answer on each question. This special was included in the ninth series of the show (as that series was in progress), unlike the Channel 4 'mash-up' which was a separate edition.

Celebrity Games series

Over four weekends, beginning Friday 20 July 2012, four teams (consisting of six pairs) of celebrities would take on The Million Pound Drop. Their aim was to collectively win £1,000,000 for Paralympics-related charities over the four weekends to celebrate Channel 4's status as host broadcaster of the 2012 Summer Paralympics. Every weekend, if the six couples managed to collectively win £150,000 the show would add another £100,000 to the pot. While one couple played the game, the remaining five couples would play the game online backstage in the "Games Room". The couple who played the online game best would be the next couple to take on the drop.

Week 1

The first team consisted of Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer (team captains), Ben Shephard and Kate Garraway, Natalie Cassidy and Frankie Cocozza, Aled Jones and Sara Cox, Ola Jordan and James Jordan, Jonathan Edwards and Colin Jackson.

On Friday 20 July, Vic and Bob played and managed to make it to question 8 with £225,000 but lost all their money. Natalie Cassidy and Frankie Cocozza played next but dropped out on question 6 with £125,000. Aled Jones and Sara Cox took on the drop next and won £125,000. Jonathan Edwards and Colin Jackson were the last couple to take on the drop and won £100,000 meaning the team collectively won £225,000 for charity. The show also added an extra £100,000 to the pot, meaning the total win was £325,000.

Week 2

The second team consisted of Professor Green and Big Lew (team captains), Rachel Riley and Mark Foster, Joe Swash and Jessica-Jane Clement, Debra Stephenson and Jon Culshaw, and Martin Kemp and his son, Roman.

Professor Green and Big Lew played first but lost on question 4. Rachel Riley and Mark Foster did best playing in the game room so were next to take on the drop, they won £50,000. Joe Swash and Jessica-Jane Clement played next but lost all of their money on question 6. Debra Stephenson and Jon Culshaw played fourth. They made it to question 7 with £100,000 but bet all their money on the wrong answer. Martin and Roman Kemp played last, but didn't make it past question 2. At the end of the second weekend of games, the total raised so far was £375,000.

Week 3

The third team consisted of Steps (team captains), Dr Dawn Harper and Dr Christian Jessen from Embarrassing Bodies, Hugo and Binky from Made in Chelsea, and John McCririck and Frankie Dettori. As there are five members of Steps, they would play in pairs, each answering two questions.

Lisa and H from Steps answered the first two questions correctly. Claire and Lee played next, but lost their money on question 4. Dawn and Christian played next. They made it to question 8 with £50,000 but unfortunately bet it all on the wrong answer. Hugo and Binky were up next and won £25,000 for charity.

The next game would be played as a relay, with different pairs being selected to answer each question. Each pair can only answer two questions. John and Frankie went first and answered the first question correctly. They were followed by H and Faye from Steps, Dawn and Christian, Hugo and Binky, Steps' Claire and Lisa, Dawn and Christian and Hugo and Binky. John and Frankie were left to answer the final question with the remaining £125,000. They placed the money on the winning drop, taking the total weekend winnings to £150,000. As they raised over the £150,000 target, an extra £100,000 was added to the prize. At the end of the third weekend of games, the total raised so far was £625,000.

Week 4

The fourth team consisted of Ade Adepitan and Iwan Thomas (team captains), radio DJs Lisa Snowdon and Dave Berry, cricketers Stuart Broad and James Anderson, and Irish entertainers Jedward.

Ade and Iwan played first, but they crashed out on question 6. Lisa and Dave played next and won £25,000. Next up were Jedward, but lost their remaining £300,000 on question 3. The last pair to face the drop were Stuart and James, who made it to the final question but lost their remaining £25,000 on the final question.

All four pairs then faced a bonus question 8 at the end of the show, which featured each of them playing a single question for £50,000, meaning that there was an extra £200,000 up for grabs, in addition to the possible £100,000 bonus if they could hit a combined total of £150,000. First up for their bonus question were Ade and Iwan, but they answered incorrectly and lost their £50,000. Next were Lisa and Dave, who met the same fate, as did Stuart and James, meaning that it was down to Jedward to salvage some money. Jedward correctly answered their question and won £50,000 for charity, bringing the total for the final weekend to £75,000 and the grand total for the series to £700,000.

Incident

During an episode on 5 November 2010, contestants Johnny and Dee were faced with the options Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant. They were then asked "Who played Dr Who for the longest period?". The contestants did not know the answer so decided to split their remaining £650,000 between McCoy and McGann. The answer was then revealed to be Tennant and they lost all their remaining money.[6] Tennant played Doctor Who from 2005-10. However, viewers began to query the accuracy of this question,[7] saying it was open to interpretation as McCoy played the Doctor from 1987–89, but also appeared in the charity special Dimensions in Time in 1993 and in the beginning of the Doctor Who television film in 1996, making his time playing Doctor Who technically nine years uninterrupted. After producers spoke to the BBC, it became apparent that McCoy was the correct answer. Channel 4 therefore allowed Johnny and Dee to return and continue with the £325,000 that would have remained.[6] They came back on 12 November 2010, to continue the game. They got all the way to the final question and managed to win £25,000.

The catchphrase

According to UKGameshows.com, in the original British series, the show's catchphrase is "Let's see what's going to drop." by Davina McCall. If several trapdoors are open and more than one trapdoor do not drop, Davina says: "Let's reveal the final answer to drop."

In other versions, there are other variants to this catchphrase, here is the collection (not entirely included):

Country Host His/her words in local language Translated in English
 Argentina Susana Gimenez Por favor, respuesta señor director! Please the answer sir!
 Australia Eddie McGuire Here comes the drop!
 Brazil Silvio Santos Vamos ver qual é a resposta certa! Let's see what is the right answer!
 Chile Don Francisco (2012–14) ¡Ábrete ahora! Break on now!
Diana Bolocco (2015–present) ¡Vamos a ver! Let's see!
 China Ma Ke 请向前一步！ (Please) take a step forward!
 Colombia María José Barraza ¡Vamos a ver que cae! Let's see which falls!
 Egypt Nagla Badr منشوف مع بعض الإحتمالات الخطأ للإجابة Remove the odd wrong answer.
 France Laurence Boccolini Vérifions! Let's check!
 India Jeet Let's see!
 Indonesia Anjasmara Jatuhkan uangnya sekarang! Drop the money now!
 Israel Erez Tal ! הינה התשובה The answer is ...!
 Italy Gerry Scotti Parola alle botole! Leave the word to the trapdoors!
 Japan Yusuke Santamaria Money Drop! (マネードロップ！) -
 Malaysia AC Mizal Where the money drops?
 Philippines Vic Sotto Let's do the drop!
 Portugal Teresa Guilherme Vamos confirmar! Let's check
 Kazakhstan
 Russia
 Ukraine
 Belarus		 Abdel' Mukhtarov
Maksim Galkin
Andrey Domansky
Georgy Koldun		 Внимание правильный ответ Let's see the correct answer
 Singapore George Young Let's see what (the final answer) is to drop.
 Spain Carlos Sobera Comprobamos... We're checking...
 Thailand Varavuth Jentanakul ก้าวไปข้างหน้า แล้วมาดูเฉลยพร้อมๆกันเลยครับ! Moving forward, See the answer now!
 United States
 Nigeria
 South Africa		 Kevin Pollak
Gideon Okeke
Busisiwe Lurayi		 Step up, and see what drops!
 Uruguay Jorge Piñeyrúa Respuesta de la × pregunta! Answer of the × question!

Note: In the Malaysian version, the host A.C. Mizal uses both English and Malay to shout out the catchphrase, the one in the table is it in English.

Merchandise

A board game was released by Drumond Park in November 2010.[8]

Transmissions

Regular

Series Start date End date Episodes
1 24 May 2010 29 May 2010 6
2 25 October 2010 13 November 2010 9
3 28 January 2011 19 February 2011 8
4 22 April 2011 28 May 2011 12
5 2 September 2011 8 October 2011 12
6 13 January 2012 11 February 2012 10
7 24 March 2012 21 April 2012 10
8 15 June 2012 14 July 2012 10
9 14 September 2012 20 October 2012 12
10 14 June 2013 20 July 2013 12
11 11 July 2014 26 September 2014 12
12 20 February 2015 20 March 2015 4

Christmas

Series Start date End date Episodes
1 15 December 2010 18 December 2010 4
2 5 December 2011 9 December 2011 5

Celebrity

Series Start date End date Episodes
1 20 July 2012 11 August 2012 8

Notes

Ratings

The series' highest-rated episode was 4 February 2011, which was seen by 2.79 million viewers and received a 14.4% share.[9] Ratings for the current series (series 10) dropped but remained respectiable; the first episode (14 June 2013) was seen by 1.57 million viewers and received a 7.6% share.[10]

International versions

Country/language Local title Host Channel Top prize Date aired/premiered
 Afghanistan[11] شما ومیلیون
Shoma wa million		 Mukhtar Lashkari 1TV Af.1,000,000 15 February 2014
 Albania[12] 100 Milionë Eno Popi Top Channel 10,000,000 lekë (100,000,000 old lekë) 11 January 2011
 Argentina[13] Salven el millón Susana Giménez Telefe AR$1,000,000 9 June – 22 December 2011
Salven los millones AR$2,000,000 23 May 2013
 Australia[14] The Million Dollar Drop Eddie McGuire Nine Network A$1,000,000 21 March 2011 – 28 April 2011
 Belarus [15][16] Шоу Сто Миллионов
Shou Sto Millionov 		Georgy Koldun ONT 100,000,000 Br 13 September 2014
 Belgium (Dutch)[17] De val van een miljoen Evy Gruyaert VIER €1,000,000 31 August 2013
 Brazil[18][19] Um Milhão na Mesa Silvio Santos SBT R$1,000,000 21 September – 14 December 2011
 Bulgaria[20] Да ти паднат 100 хиляди
Da ti padnat 100 khilyadi		 Niki Kunchev Nova 100,000лв 12 March 2012
 Cambodia[21] 200 Million Money Drop Chea Vibol Hang Meas HDTV ៛ 200,000,000 12 April 2014
 Chile[22][23] Atrapa los Millones (2012-14) Don Francisco Canal 13 CL$400,000,000 25 March 2012
Atrapa los Millones - La apuesta de tus sueños (2015-present) Diana Bolocco CL$100,000,000 09 March 2015
 China[24] 最强喜事
Zuiqiang Xishi		 Mǎ Kě Guizhou TV 30 free trips
(50 trips in early episodes)		 24 July 2011 – 25 December 2011
让梦想飞 (Season 6) Yang Bo Shandong TV Life Channel CN¥50,000(Weekday live edition)
CN¥100,000(Weekend edition)		 16 June 2014 - 13 February 2015 (Weekday live edition)
10 January 2015(Weekend edition)
 Colombia[25] Millones por montones María José Barraza Canal Caracol CO$1,000,000,000 25 July 2011
 Croatia Kolo du miljon Malna Tariks HRT 1 2,000,000 Kn 10 November 2014
 Denmark[26] Pengene på bordet Claus Elming TV2 2,000,000Kr 23 March 2013
all episodes were recorded in July 2012
 Egypt[27] أنت والمليون
Inta wal milyon		 Nagla Badr Mehwar TV ج.م 1,000,000 24 February 2012
 Estonia[28] Rahaauk Alari Kivisaar TV3 €100,000 12 September 2011
 Finland[29] Suuret setelit Heikki Paasonen MTV3 €100,000 7 March 2014
 France[30] Money Drop Laurence Boccolini TF1 €250,000 July 2010(Pilot in London)
1 August 2011(Regular episodes)
 Germany[31] Rette die Million! Jörg Pilawa ZDF €1,000,000 13 October 2010 – 22 August 2013
Keep your Money Wayne Carpendale Sat. 1 €250,000 2015
 Georgia[32] ფულთან თამაში!
Phultan tamashi		 Dimitry Skhirtlazde Imedi TV ლ100,000 10 April 2013
 Greece[33] Money Drop Grigoris Arnaoutoglou Mega Channel €300,000 16 October 2010
 Hungary[34] A 40 Milliós Játszma Ferenc Rákóczi TV2 40,000,000 Ft 29 November 2010
Az 50 Milliós Játszma Claudia Liptai 50,000,000 Ft 12 October 2015
 Iceland[35] Vertu viss Þórhallur Gunnarsson RÚV 10,000,000 kr November 2013
 India (Bengali)[36] কোটি টাকার বাজি
Koti Takar Baji		 Jeet Star Jalsha ₹10,000,000 15 October 2011 – 14 January 2012
 India (Kannada)[37] ಕಯ್ಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕೋತಿ - ಹೆಲ್ಬಿತ್ತು ಹೋದೀರಿ
Kayyalli Koti - Haelbittu Hodeeri		 Sai Kumar Udaya TV ₹10,000,000 17 March 2012
 India (Malayalam)[38] കൈയ്യില്‍ ഒരു കോടി
Kayil Oru Kodi		 Mamta Mohandas Surya TV ₹10,000,000 26 March 2012
 India (Tamil)[39] கையில் ஒரு கோடி - ஆர் யு ரெடி
Kaiyil Oru Kodi - Are You Ready?		 Rishi Sun TV ₹10,000,000 10 March 2012
 India (Telugu)[40] కో అంటే కోటి - మే సొంతం చేస్కొండి
Ko Aante Koti - Me Sontham Cheskondi		 Jagapati Babu
Jhansi Laxmi		 Gemini TV ₹10,000,000 26 March 2012
 Indonesia[41] The Million Rupiah Money Drop Anjasmara RCTI Rp.1,000,000,000 2016
 Israel[42] אל תפיל את המיליון
Al Tapil Et HaMillion		 Erez Tal Channel 2 (Keshet) ₪1,000,000 13 October 2010
 Italy[43][44] The Money Drop Gerry Scotti Canale 5 €1,000,000 12 December 2011 - 1 June 2013
 Japan[45][46] 2000万円クイズ! マネードロップ
¥20,000,000 Quiz! Money Drop		 Yusuke Santamaria TBS ¥20,000,000 31 October 2012
 Kazakhstan[47][48] Қырық Миллион Теңге Шоуы (Шоу Сорок Миллионов Тенге)
Qırıq Mïllïon Teñge Şowı (Shou Sorok Millionov Tenge)		 Abdel' Mukhtarov tv7 40,000,000 ₸ 22 January 2011
 Latvia[49] Paņem 100 000... ja vari Edgars Ludāns TV3 €100,000 1 October 2011[50]
 Lithuania[51] 100 000 eurų grynais Marijonas Mikutavičius TV3 €100,000 2 September 2011
 Malaysia (Malay)[52] RM 1,000,000 Money Drop AC Mizal Astro Ria RM 1,000,000 3 December 2011
 Mongolia 50 саяын уналт
50 sayiin unalt		 Unknown Edutainment TV HD ₮ 50,000,000 January 2013
 Netherlands[53] Show Me The Money Beau van Erven Dorens SBS 6 €1,000,000 11–22 April 2011
 Niger N1,000,000 Money drop Farub Arlane DL 4 N1,000,000 September 5, 2018
 Nigeria (English)[54] The Money Drop Gideon Okeke Africa Magic US$100,000 13 January 2013
 Norway[55] Pengene på bordet Sturla Berg-Johansen TV2 2,000,000 Kr. 2012
 Peru[56] Atrapa el Millón Mónica Zevallos ATV S. / 1,000,000 14 September 2014
 Philippines[57][58] The Million Peso Money Drop Vic Sotto TV5 ₱1,000,000 14 October 2012
 Poland[59] Postaw na milion Łukasz Nowicki TVP2 1,000,000 zł 5 March 2011
 Portugal[60] The Money Drop - Entre a ganhar Teresa Guilherme TVI €100,000 30 March 2015 - 15 August 2015
 Romania[61] Cu banii jos Dan Negru Antena 1 €100,000 19 September 2012
 Russia[62] Шоу Десять Миллионов
Shou Desyat' Millionov		 Maxim Galkin Russia 1 10,000,000 руб. 4 September 2010 - 14 June 2014
 Serbia[63] Multimilioner Dragan Nikolić RTV Pink 10,000,000 RSD 13 September 2011
 Singapore (English)[64] Million Dollar Money Drop George Young MediaCorp TV Channel 5 S$1,000,000 9 August 2011
 Slovenia[65] Denar pada Jonas Žnidaršič Planet TV €100,000 3 April 2013
 South Africa (English)[66] Million Rand Money Drop Busi Lurayi M-Net R1,000,000 10 April 2013
(1st Season ended)
 Spain[67] Atrapa un Millón Carlos Sobera
Arturo Valls(Guest)		 Antena 3 €1,000,000 (weekly) 4 February 2011 – 18 April 2012
Atrapa un Millón Diario €200,000 (daily) 4 April 2011 – 8 September 2014
Atrapa dos Millones €2,000,000 (special) 21 October 2011
 Sweden[68][69] Pengarna på bordet Peter Jihde TV4 2,000,000 Kr. 3 October 2011
Miljonlotteriets pengarna på bordet Paolo Roberto 1 October 2013
  Switzerland (German)[70] Die Millionen-Falle René Rindlisbacher SF1 1,000,000 SFr 4 July 2011
 Thailand [71][72] The money drop ไทยแลนด์ Varavuth Jentanakul Channel 7 2,000,000 ฿ 2 August 2014
 Turkey[73][74] Bir Milyon Canlı Para Engin Altan Düzyatan Show TV 1,000,000 ₺ 25 October 2010–October 2011
Murat Başoğlu Fox 9 September 2012–Autumn 2012
Mesut Yar Kanal D 31 March 2014
 Ukraine[75] Шоу На Два Мiльйони (Шоу На Два Миллиона)
Shou Na Dva Milyony (Shou Na Dva Milliona)		 Andrey Domansky 1+1 ₴ 2,000,000 12 January–30 March 2011
 United States[76] Million Dollar Money Drop Kevin Pollak Fox US$1,000,000 20 December 2010 – 1 February 2011
 Uruguay[77] Salven el Millón Jorge Piñeyrúa Channel 10 $U1,000,000 21 August 2012
 Vietnam[78] Đừng để tiền rơi Hoàng Trung Nghĩa VTV 200,000,000₫+9,000,000₫ 16 January 2014 - 30 April 2015
Thành Trung 200,000,000₫ 6 January 2016

Notes: 1. The two Chinese versions are produced without Endemol's permission.

2. According to Endemol's official website, the format has recently been sold to Niger, but all the exact information is unknown yet.[79]

3. Arturo Valls hosted an episode as a cross-over between Atrapa un millón and his own game show Ahora caigo, which was hosted by Carlos Sobera that afternoon.

4. The Thai version's top prize is in Thai baht. However, in fact, the cash on the stage is in United States dollars, equal to 2 million baht.

5. Russian, Ukrainian and Kazakh version (except Belarusian version) are take shooting in the Moscow (Gorky Film Studio), and under production by Weit Media, Although they are using Russian language(including Belarusian version) as their conversation language, however Ukrainian and Kazakh version using their native language for introduction and closing caption. Unlike Russian, Belarusian, Kazakh version which are using Russian language for the question and answer, Ukrainian version is prefer to use Ukrainian Language for the question and answer instead using Russian Language.

Rules variations

Pass

In some versions in the Eurozone, like the German version, if the contestants choose the question that is difficult in their opinion, they can "Pass" and switch to the other category which they did not originally choose. The "Pass" can be only used once during the game.

Quick Change

In some versions, as lifelines, there are "Quick Change(s)" (or similar words in local language), which allows a pair of contestants have 30 seconds (in the Brazilian and French versions, 10 seconds instead) to change their answers, only once in all the questions except for the last question. This lifeline is also used automatically if contestants do not leave one trapdoor empty on a question.

However, in the second series of the Slovenian version, there are two Quick Changes for each pair of the contestants, but they can't use both of them in a single question. In the French version, though the rules are similar to the UK version, if contestants have made their way to question number five, one more Quick Change is given. In the Chilean version, there are 105 seconds for the final all-or-nothing question's betting, with a bonus Quick Change given by the host (prior to that, there are 75 seconds on the clock, if the contestants are confident enough for the answer, they can refuse the bonus).

Starting from autumn 2014, in the Vietnamese version based on the British format, the Quick Change rule was introduced. The rules were still unchanged, however, sometimes the game features three boxes randomly contain 5 million VND, 3 million VND or 1 million VND. After the first question, whatever boxes left on the table will be guaranteed and taken away after the game. Generally speaking, the top prize was slightly increased to 209 million Vietnam dong.

Final Fact

This was also introduced in the American version along with Quick Change. In the final all-or-nothing question, there is no time limit for placing the money on the trapdoor. Then the host Kevin Pollak will give an extra fact about the question, often with the following words: "These are not meant to change your mind, just give you one more thing to concern." Then the contestants are given 60 seconds to decide whether switch the answer or not after the extra notice given by host.

The Final Fact was later removed in most of the versions.

First Chinese version

In the Chinese version, no real money is used. Since the episode aired on October 2011, there are 30 iPads which stand for three different routes to travel - one is to Europe, one is across Asia, and another one is going around China.

There were three questions in a row, and 30 seconds were given to spread the prizes for each question.

If the contestants answer the third all-or-nothing question correctly, the prizes are listed as follows:

Number of iPads Prize
30 (the Jackpot) Free trips around Europe, Asia and China (30 free trips)
20 to 29 Free trips across Asia, China (20 free trips)
10 to 19 Free trips around China (10 trips)
Less than 10 Free trip to one of the 10 places in China
Specials in Chinese version

In episodes 3, 4, 6 and 9 of the Chinese franchise, the game used special modes.

In episodes 3 and 4, there are three contestants on the stage with pre-existing relationships. One goes down the stage to the separated room beneath the stage watching the game playing on the stage, and the other two play against the Drop. The game uses the American format, and the only "litigant"(the contestant sitting in the special room) choose the correct answer that based on his or her life.

There are no quick changes in the game, and each question's time limit is 60 seconds. After revealing the answers, the hidden contestant would be also revealed on the screen and he or she might be asked about the background to the question.

In episodes 6 and 9, the contestants must answer five questions in a row, and all the questions are about the hidden contestant beneath the stage.

Second Chinese version

The second Chinese version allows the contestant put money on ALL the trapdoors, but if the remaining cash amount is lower than (or equal to) 5,000 yuan, they can only put the cash on one single "drop", but they can eliminate a random wrong answer before the clock begins. Only 5 questions for each pair of contestants, and they can choose one out of ten sets of questions. They can hand out 5,000 yuan to use a lifeline to ask a relative who is watching the live broadcast show, but it can be used only once in a game. It is broadcast every weekday at 20:00 in Shandong Province only.

Also, "Double or Nothing" introduced in UK series 10 also used in the second Chinese version.

Twists in the Spanish version

This is introduced on 27 September 2013, in the Spanish version. As the winning of the top prize in the Spanish version, a new rule whereby the contestants can earn more money is introduced.

The first twist is "Double or Triple the Money". In the eighth question, the security team brings up the prize money, which is double their current prize. The final all-or-nothing question contains four choices. Before the 60-second clock begins, the pair can choose to take the question with all four options or not in 20 seconds. If not, one wrong answer is removed, and they can choose to play the question or not within 10 seconds. If not again, another wrong answer is removed, and they must play the original two-option final question. However options left in play, they must choose only one answer. If they choose the correct one, they can walk away with double(with three options in the game) or triple(with four choices), whilst they go home with nothing.

Second twist is "Single play" (Spanish: Solo uno, literally "only one"). The "Single Play" question may be exist in all the question categories except the final two. If the contestants choose "Single Play", one of the pair must leave the stage for several minutes beneath the floor, and the remaining contestant must answer the question by him/her own. If he/she survived the question, they could win an extra €5,000 and put it to the prize pot. In this question, they could not use the "Pass".

So the theoretical top prize in the daily Spanish version is €615,000 if the contestant play excellently and take "Single play" well.

Phone a Friend

This is introduced in the Russian version. Similar to "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?"'s lifeline with the same name, in the Drop's "Phone a Friend", the contestants can make a telephone call to one of their relatives before the clock starts. They can only make one phone call in the game.

If the contestants get stuck on one of the questions, they can use the lifeline and make a telephone call to one of their relatives, friends, or somebody else. After the presenter greet him/her over the phone, the contestants must read out the question and all the answer options. The 1-minute clock begins after the question and answers are read for the first time, while the question and answers on the main screen are disappeared.

Eliminate wrong answer(s)

This lifeline is also introduced in the Russian version, also adapted from "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?"'s lifeline called "Fifty-Fifty", if the contestants are not quite sure about the final answer, they can use this lifeline after the clock runs out.

The lifeline can be only used once before the last question. If this is into play, one or two incorrect answer(s) are randomly delected from the table, only leave one correct and one wrong answer, the money must be on one of the two answers. If they placed the money on the correct answer, they can bring back the money they lost in this question; otherwise, they are eliminated with nothing.

Top prize winners

Country Winning contestants Date aired Top prize
 Argentina Claudio Patrone & María Inés Martín 3 August 2011 AR$1,000,000
 Germany Horst & Nada Lichter 8 June 2011 €1,000,000
 Spain Pablo & María Fernandis 23 September 2013 €200,000

Notable events outside the UK

References

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External links

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