It's September 9, 2001. Major Charles Ingram—soon to be known forever, eternally, as the Coughing Major—is sitting on the edge of a stainless steel high-chair. He is in the middle of filming an episode of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? He is also in the middle of committing one of the clumsiest, most ineffectual, but brilliant crimes of the 21st century.

Major Charles Ingram's appearance on the show was in 2001, but his wife, Diana, had also been on earlier that year and won £32,000 [$42,000]. Not only that, but her brother Adrian Pollock had also appeared on the show in December o2000. It was alleged after the scandal that the Ingrams were in excess of £50,000 [$66,000] worth of debt. Despite the blustery veneer, the clipped accent, and the military façade, the Major was masking a thinly veiled desperation.

Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, which first aired in 1998, was a phenomenon when it hit British screens. At its peak in 1999, one edition of the show was watched by 19 million viewers, one-third of the British population. A combination of the then-futurist set, the affable Tarrant, and the astronomical promise of a million pounds—a prize never before imagined on a television show—made it the perfect premise for the precipice of the millennium. It was a show that promised big thrills and even bigger rewards. Perhaps it was always going to attract some dubious attention at some stage.

The story of the Coughing Major is a tale as timeless in morality as it is peculiarly rooted to the moment in space and time within which it occurred. The army man's attempt to steal a million pounds on television, with little more for help than sheer dumb luck and a terrible fake cough, is a fascinating incident even today. Grotesque in its stupidity, tragic in its context, hilarious in its execution.

Charles Ingram's appearance on the show started pretty badly. By the time he had stumbled his way to the £4,000 [$5,300] mark, he'd already used up two of his lifelines and was struggling to land on the name of Audrey's daughter in Coronation Street. By the time he finally sputtered "Gail," it was time for the recording to end for that day, meaning Ingram's run would continue onto the next episode. The production team at the time all doubted that he'd make it any further.

Then a miraculous thing happened. During the next day's filming, wearing the same strangely childlike patchwork polo shirt, Major Charles Ingram stomped his way ungracefully to a million.

We now know what had really happened: a plan had been devised to get him there. Diana Ingram had found a plant: Tecwen Whittock, a college lecturer from Cardiff who Diana knew from the gameshow circuit. They colluded as a three, creating a system to carry Ingram to the higher reaches of the game. The Major would read the four possible answers, and Whittock would cough after the correct one. On hearing the cough, the Major would know he had said the right one and proceed to offer this answer.