In a jaw-dropping turn of events on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, contestant Nicholas Bennett lost the largest sum ever on the show due to a costly blunder. The quiz show veteran, now in its 30th series, witnessed Nicholas sail to £500k without touching his lifelines, leaving Jeremy Clarkson thoroughly astounded.

But disaster struck, and Nicholas walked away with a staggering £375k less than he could have. After answering the £125,000 question, an impressed Clarkson remarked: “He’s just roaring along.” The £250,000 question was a historical poser: “Which of these groups never successfully invaded the city of Rome?” The choices were: “a) Visigoths, b) Huns, c) Vandals, d) Gauls”.

Nicholas, exuding confidence, mused: “I do like history, I know the Gauls invaded pretty early on. I’m pretty sure the Vandals destroyed the city – that’s why we have vandalism. I don’t think the Huns did, I don’t think they made it that far into Europe, whereas I knew the Visigoths were around. As it’s a free shot, I’m 70-80% sure..”, reports the Mirror.

Despite Clarkson’s reminder about the available lifelines and the unnecessary risk of guessing, Nicholas boldly declared: “I don’t think this is a guess though. Maybe on the next question I’ll need them, so I’m gonna say Huns – final answer.”

His gamble paid off, and he advanced to the half-million-pound question. Clarkson noted Nicholas’s apparent calmness, to which he replied: “It’s not relaxed inside my head.”

The £500k question posed was: “Which of these long-running US sitcoms had the most episodes? a) The Big Bang Theory b) Friends c) The Office or d) Seinfeld”.

Unsure of the correct response, he sought help from the audience who believed it to be Friends – but only 37% agreed, while 30% thought it was Seinfeld. Still uncertain and not willing to risk it, he opted for the 50/50 lifeline, which left The Big Bang Theory and The Office (proving the audience wrong).

Nicolas admitted that he struggled to articulate his thoughts before finally settling on The Big Bang Theory as his final answer. His choice was correct, paving the way for the final £1million question.

Clarkson then asked: “Which of these words, each coined by a famous writer, was derived from the title of a fairytale about three princes? a)Pandemonium b) Serendipity c) Utopia d) Yahoo.”

Nicholas responded: “The one that’s standing out to me is yahoo, but I don’t know.”

He turned to host Jeremy for guidance, who confessed he couldn’t recall a fairytale involving three princes and noted that all four words were indeed coined by authors. Nicholas then recalled a puppet show he attended recently in Spain, which he believed was about three princes.

He confessed his Spanish wasn’t fluent enough to understand the storyline. “But I think someone was yelling yahoo”, he added.

He rationalised that he’d still have £125k even if his answer was incorrect, prompting Clarkson to remind him of the potential £375k loss and the availability of another lifeline. Despite this, Nicholas decided to use his lifeline, only to find that his friend Meg was clueless about the question.

“Normally, I’m really averse to any kind of gambling, but I do think I’m going to go for it,” he declared, confidently stating “Yahoo, final answer.”

The correct answer turned out to be serendipity, a term invented by Horace Walpole inspired by The Three Princes of Serendip. With a nonchalant attitude, Nicholas accepted his remaining £125k, while Jeremy Clarkson confessed he would be “sobbing on the floor” after such a hefty loss.

“Oh my giddy aunt,” exclaimed Clarkson, questioning whether this was the most substantial loss in ‘Millionaire’ history before praising Nicholas: “I don’t think I’ve had a contestant I’ve enjoyed more than you. Well done, enjoy your winnings.”

When the show returned from commercials, Clarkson greeted the audience with the announcement: “We’ve just seen someone lose what we think is the biggest amount in Who Wants to be a Millionaire history”.