Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? — Resident Evil parody Millionaire meme with 'Where is Carl?' and four identical 'Not in the house' answers

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

1998catchphrase / format parodyclassic

Published October 5, 2026

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? is a British TV quiz show that premiered on ITV in September 1998 and spawned 81 international versions across 160 countries. Its question-board graphics, lifeline mechanics, and dramatic stinger music became endlessly recyclable templates for reaction edits, parody questions, and image macros online.

tv show memes catchphrase memes exploitable templates british memes late 1990s memes

Overview

The meme pulls from a specific visual grammar the show locked in during its first run: the blue question board with four lettered answers, the pulsing stinger music that plays while a contestant hesitates, and host Chris Tarrant's deadpan line, "Is that your final answer?"2 Edits typically swap the real trivia question for a joke prompt (an obvious moral dilemma, a bait question, or something crude) while keeping the dramatic music and lighting intact, letting the show's manufactured tension carry the gag.

The three "lifelines" (50:50, Phone a Friend, Ask the Audience) also became shorthand online for stalling or asking for help in low-stakes situations1. On YouTube, clips of real contestants giving absurd answers or freezing on easy questions circulate as standalone comedy, with the show's own production cues doing most of the comedic work3. The US version with Regis Philbin added its own catchphrase layer ("Is that your final answer?" became his signature) and remains a reference point in American meme usage5.

Origin & Background

Platform
ITV (TV broadcast) / YouTube (meme spread)
Key People
David Briggs, Mike Whitehill, and Steven Knight; meme edits by unknown fans
Date
1998

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? was created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill, and Steven Knight and premiered on ITV on September 4th, 1998, hosted by Chris Tarrant1. The first ten episodes ran as a nightly strip before the show shifted to a weekly Saturday primetime slot, and the UK original aired its final regular episode on February 11th, 2014 after 30 seasons and 592 episodes1.

The show was built around departures from standard game show pacing: one contestant at a time, no clock on most answers, and a cash ladder where a wrong answer wiped non-guaranteed winnings. That emphasis on silence, staring, and reconsidering gave meme editors the raw material they would later cut around, since nearly every question is already structured like a punchline setup with four options and a long pause2.

How It Spread

The format travelled fast through licensing: 81 different versions aired across 160 countries, with 39 still airing and 42 ended as of the KYM write-up1. The US adaptation on ABC, hosted by Regis Philbin, pushed the catchphrases into American pop vocabulary during its summer 1999 run, and the show's return as "Super Millionaire" in 2004 kept the brand in syndication under rotating hosts5.

UK winners became their own small media stories and later meme fodder, including Judith Keppel in November 2000 and Ingram Wilcox in September 20061. YouTube uploads of memorable rounds, including dramatic wrong answers and contestant meltdowns, circulate as standalone clips that get re-edited with new captions or reaction overlays34. The Chris Tarrant era's quotes, including "But we don't want to give you that" and "Quite pleased, then?" are pulled into reaction GIFs and quote posts tied to the UK version specifically2.

Urban Dictionary entries from the US side still frame the show through the Regis Philbin era and the post-Regis decline, a shorthand that comes up when the show is referenced in American meme contexts5.

Timeline

1998-09-04

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? premieres on ITV in the UK, hosted by Chris Tarrant[1].

2000-11-20

Judith Keppel becomes the first UK contestant to win the £1 million top prize[1].

2004

The US version returns to primetime as 'Super Millionaire' on ABC[5].

2006-09-23

Ingram Wilcox wins the UK £1 million prize, the fifth and final jackpot winner of the Tarrant-era UK run[1].

2014-02-11

The original UK series airs its final regular episode after 30 seasons and 592 episodes[1].

How to Use This Meme

The common convention is to screenshot the show's four-answer question board and swap the trivia prompt for a joke, often with three plausible answers and one absurd one, or four variations of the same wrong answer. Video edits typically keep Tarrant or Regis Philbin's "final answer" delivery and the stinger music while replacing the question text. The lifelines are often invoked as reaction captions ("50:50 me", "phone a friend") in replies and group chats.

Frequently Asked Questions