Sir Stephen Fry on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire: I was preposterously nervous
The 67-year-old will make his debut on the quiz show when a new celebrity edition kicks off on January 26.
Sir Stephen Fry has said he felt pressure to not make a “spectacular boob of myself” when competing on the new series of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire as he feels some people think of him as a “know-all”.
The actor, screenwriter and author, 67, will make his debut on the quiz show when a new celebrity edition kicks off on Sunday January 26 at 8pm on ITV.
The first episode will also see former sprinter-turned-presenter Jeanette Kwakye and broadcaster Richie Anderson compete to win money for their chosen charity.
Reflecting on how he felt ahead of the show, Sir Stephen said: “I was preposterously nervous. They upped the music to get your heartbeat to go up a little bit faster.
“For good or ill, people think of me as some sort of ‘know-all’, so there was pressure on me not to make a spectacular boob of myself.”
The presenter, who fronted the panel show QI for many years, noted it does not make you a better or worse person if you do not know the answer as “all of us have little holes in our tapestry”.
However, he admitted his heart was racing as the show progressed but it felt he got a “great mixture of questions”, although some were out of his comfort zone.
“Some of the questions were a bit alarming because they weren’t in my wheelhouse as we say – sporting questions about cycling, but fortunately I did know the answer to that one,” he said.
“There was a very early question about Pharrell Williams and I knew nothing about it. The audience knew, so they must have thought I was a complete dunce when it came to pop music, which I kind of am.
“There are different strengths we have and different weaknesses, and there is no shame in it. The audience were lovely, very warm, very appreciative, and it was nice to have the feeling they were on your side.”
Sir Stephen competed on the quiz show, hosted by Jeremy Clarkson, to raise money for the mental health charity Mind, which he has been the president of since 2011.
Following his experience, he encouraged others to take part, saying: “It’s not about exposing ignorance and making people feel bad. Nobody is a loser and it is very rare that somebody gets nothing out of it.
“Anything is better than nothing when it comes to charity.”
Sir Stephen studied at Cambridge University and there became involved with student sketch comedy troupe the Cambridge Footlights, where he met fellow actors including House star Hugh Laurie, who he formed the comic double act Fry and Laurie with, their work including A Bit of Fry & Laurie as well as taking the title roles in Jeeves And Wooster.
His other notable acting roles have included his performance as Oscar Wilde in the 1997 film Wilde, which saw him nominated for a Golden Globe.
He also famously played Lord Melchett in comedy series Blackadder, as well as starring as Mycroft Holmes in Warner Brothers’ Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and as the Master of Lake-town in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit.
Sir Stephen has been open about his his struggles with mental illness and his bipolar disorder diagnosis over the years, and he fronted BBC programme, Stephen Fry’s The Secret Life Of The Manic Depressive, in 2006.
He was awarded a knighthood in the recent New Year Honours list for his services to mental health awareness, the environment and to charity.
The new Who Wants To Be A Millionaire series will also see stars including Strictly Come Dancing judge Anton Du Beke, Channel 4 news anchor Krishnan Guru-Murthy and former BBC Breakfast host Louise Minchin put to the test.
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire will return to screens for a new series on ITV on Sunday January 26 at 8pm.
