Red-faced Channel 4 hand Million Pound Drop couple £325,000 reprieve after admitting it was wrong on Doctor Who



A couple who lost a £325,000 TV quiz show prize after the programme's fact checkers got their answer wrong have been handed a reprieve by Channel 4.



Husband and wife Johnny and Dee will return to Million Pound Drop on Friday night and will have their £325,000 kitty reinstated.



The couple were originally booted off the show last Friday night when they supposedly gave the wrong answer to the question 'Who played Dr Who for the longest time?'.



British example: Johnny and Dee lost £325,000 on Million Pound Drop but were invited back to play again and had their lost kitty reinstated

Was the answer science or fiction? The couple answered the question correctly ... but Davina deflated them

The pair were asked to chose between four actors: Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Christopher Eccleston or David Tennant.

Unable to decide on the correct answer, they split their remaining £650,000 between McCoy and McGann, only for the host to inform them the answer was Tennant.

However, the error led to Doctor Who fans calling in to complain at the factual inaccuracy.



Tennant, the tenth Doctor, played the role from 2005 until 2009.

It's him: Sylvester McCoy, left, lays claim to the title of longest-serving Doctor Who and not David Tennant, as the Million Pound Drop team believed



Two more to choose from (Paul McGann, left, and Christopher Eccleston): The couple split their remaining £650,000 on McCoy and McGann



And while McCoy only played the role from 1987 until 1989, he also starred in a 1996 film and, given that no one else portrayed the Timelord between those two points, he takes the title as longest reigning Doctor.



A statement from Channel 4 read: 'Having spoken to the Dr Who production team at the BBC, the Million Pound Drop producers have confirmed that the correct answer to this question was Sylvester McCoy and not David Tennant as shown on the broadcast on Friday 5th November.

'This is due to Sylvester McCoy’s final appearance in a 1996 TV movie.



'We apologise for this oversight and as a result, the contestants, Johnny and Dee, will return to the show to finish the game this Friday or Saturday at 10pm on Channel 4 with the £325,000 they placed on McCoy.”