The three-part drama based on the true story of coughing Major Charles Ingram and the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? scandal starts on ITV on Monday April 13 at 9PM GMT. Read an interview Michael gave to the British channel on the minisseries:

What are your memories of Who Wants to Be A Millionaire? when it first came to the screen in 1998?

I remember being really struck that a TV quiz show was on every night of the week in primetime. It was unheard of at the time. Then watching Who Wants to Be A Millionaire? and being blown away by the tension of it. It was so compelling and really groundbreaking.

In doing the research for this it was fascinating to be able to watch the experimentation they did before they got it right. The version of the show they did before they had all the tense music, the lighting and all of that. It just looked like any game show at that stage.

Apart from the £1 million on offer and the structure of how you could win it, the show was completely different and not in any way gripping. It was really interesting to see the difference the tweaks they made had and how it suddenly became a massive hit. As soon as it hit its groove it was mind-blowing.

Why did you want to be involved in Quiz?

It is an extraordinary story. It’s one of those things that has such potential. At first you think, ‘Oh really? A story about Who Wants to Be A Millionaire? Is that going to be that interesting?’ Initially you think it’s going to be a little bit flimsy, maybe. Then you realise that actually it’s a way to explore all kinds of much bigger, complicated, complex issues. That you can’t take anything for granted when it comes to how it looks on the surface.

I was drawn to Quiz because I remembered what happened. And the fact James Graham had written it and Stephen Frears was directing. You think, ‘This is going to be interesting.’ Then as I started reading the scripts you really get drawn into it. So, I hope that’s the experience for the audience watching it as well. I’m sure it will be. It’s a story about far more than just the ‘Coughing Major’. And yet it says so much about us as a nation as well in so many ways. It says a lot about television, about entertainment, about how public perceptions can be influenced by all kinds of different things. It’s a very British heist that happened.

It very much reminded me of the sort of stuff Peter Morgan was writing when we were doing things like The Queen, The Damned United, Frost/Nixon and all of those. Peter’s eye for what makes a really good story, that is both something that catches people’s interest and yet takes them into places you wouldn’t expect to go with that story. Then you are able to tell a much bigger story about who we are as a nation, as a culture, as a society. Through telling a very specific story about something very familiar. Quiz was very much in that groove.

Stephen Frears is the person who got me involved with Peter Morgan in the first place. So, I’m not surprised that Stephen wanted to do this. Plus, the producers. We were all part of that team who did The Deal, The Queen, The Damned United, Frost/Nixon, all of those. There was a lot of the same team here. Which was great.

How do you approach playing someone as recognisable as Chris Tarrant without making it a straight impersonation or caricature?

The difficulty with playing Chris Tarrant in Quiz is that the other real-life people I have played are usually the lead character or one of two lead characters. You get a much bigger canvas to work with. Whereas he’s very much a supporting character in this. So that made it more difficult, I found. Because you don’t get as much to stretch out with. You come in more short bursts.

Part of the challenge of playing characters that are very familiar to the audience watching the show is you want to make sure you deal with expectations. So, an audience who are going to sit down and watch me play Chris Tarrant, Tony Blair, Kenneth Williams, Brian Clough, David Frost or whoever it might be, you know the audience need to believe this. They are going, ‘I want to see this actor convince me they are like that person.’

You’ve got to meet that expectation immediately. But you’ve also got to try and put that expectation aside as quickly as possible. So, the audience are not thinking about that anymore. You want to be able to make the audience go, ‘Oh yes. I get the thrill of recognition of this. Yes, I believe this. I’m willing to go on this journey.’ And then you want them to forget about that and go on the journey with you and watch it like they would watch anything else.

Playing a very familiar character who is not one of the lead characters, it’s much harder to get the audience to forget and to just go with you. Because you don’t get as much screen time. That was the challenge that was a bit harder with this one. It’s also a challenge with people who can be easily caricatured. I’ve heard Chris Tarrant himself saying he hoped the portrayal of him wouldn’t be this over the top caricature. And I hope that’s not what it is.

He is someone who is incredibly familiar to us as an audience with a very particular kind of voice. The characteristics that make him such a popular TV personality are also the characteristics that can make someone easy to caricature. You look for things to hang on to in playing someone like that. You go, ‘Right, I’ll use that.’ Because audiences will recognise that and, hopefully, it will help them believe I’m this person. But at the same time, if you make too much of those things then it does just become a caricature. The process I’ve done for all the real-life characters I’ve played is pretty much the same. Whereby I try and put off the point at which I start trying to ‘sound’ like them or ‘act’ like them for as long as possible. And just try and immerse yourself in the world of that person. I watched as much of Who Wants to Be A Millionaire? as I possibly could. Especially the early shows.

Because Chris Tarrant is so brilliant at what he does on that show, I had to watch it over and over again in order to see what it is that he is actually doing a lot of the time. Because a lot of what he is doing is covered up. He is being brilliant. He is doing so many things at the same time. And he makes it look effortless. Creating the tension and yet at the same time being very accessible, entertaining and funny. But not ever letting that break the tension. That is a really difficult thing that not many people can do. And he does it without drawing attention to the fact he does it.

So, I watched Millionaire over and over again to see what he’s actually doing in the show as well as trying to find within that, who is he? Who is Tarrant? What’s going on to do with his inner life aside from his technical brilliance at what he is doing on the show. Just immersing yourself in all of that and letting things jump out at you eventually.

At first, it’s just like white noise because there’s so much going on. There’s so much information you’re getting off a person. Because any person is an incredibly complex creature and people are giving off massive amounts of information all the time. So much so that you can’t see it. You can’t see the signal for the noise. So, I start off by just having a bath in that white noise until eventually things start to stand out.

Then eventually once I start to get a real feel for who the person is and what they are doing, much further down the line, I’ll start to look at the more obvious things like how someone sounds. What their voice is like, their accent, their mannerisms and all that kind of stuff. Hopefully it comes out of something that’s a bit more organic then. That’s how I try to avoid caricature while still trying to do something which, I guess, is akin to impersonation but I wouldn’t describe it as impersonation at all.

Did you meet Chris Tarrant?

I was at The Pride of Britain Awards just after we’d finished filming Quiz. Walking down the red carpet having the photographs taken. Then I hear a voice behind me, saying, ‘Nothing like me!’ I turn around and there’s Chris Tarrant.

It was extraordinary because I hadn’t met him before. Obviously, he was hugely familiar, like he would be to anybody in Britain. But I’d also been spending this obsessive amount of time focusing on him. So, it was a very weird experience to suddenly be there having a chat with him.

He was lovely. Very friendly, very warm, very generous. He was talking about Quiz as if I was still doing it or about to do it. And I remember thinking, ‘Oh no. I’ve already done it. It’s too late now. I wish I’d met him earlier.’ But it was great. It was lovely to meet him. And I hope he likes it. I know he was concerned about being caricatured. I hope that’s not the case.

What was your reaction when you walked on to the replica 1990s’ Millionaire set?

I remember asking what the set would be like. The actual Who Wants to Be A Millionaire? set has changed quite a bit over the years. The sets on most quiz shows now include a lot of computer graphics. Whereas when the Coughing Major stuff was going on it was in the days before all that.

I assumed they would just build bits of the set, like you do on films. Little aspects of it. But no. They built an absolute replica of the classic set from the 1990s. As you walked into the studio it was like walking into the studio to film that show. That does a huge amount of work for you.

I’ve had two other experiences like that. I was filming Frost/Nixon and we did one day at Universal Studios in Los Angeles. Filming on this back lot that was meant to be a London street or something. And in between takes, while they were re-setting the lights, I wandered down to the end of the set of the street we were on. Just to see what was round the corner. I suddenly found myself in somewhere that was incredibly familiar. But I’d never been there before. And I realised it was because I was in the Town Square from Back to The Future. Because that set was there permanently. It was an extraordinary feeling.

The other time that has happened was when I was doing the press tour for the film The Queen. Going from city to city. We were in Dallas, Texas. I had never been there before. I arrived there on the flight, got in the car to take me to the hotel and then on to the screening and then off to the next city the next day. I’m in the car looking out of the window and, again, I found myself somewhere that was incredibly familiar. I couldn’t understand it because I had never been there before. Then I realised, we were in Dealey Plaza where JFK was shot and there was the grassy knoll and the Book Depository.

It was weird, and like being in a dream. Being somewhere you know really well and yet you’ve never actually been there before. That was exactly the same as walking on to the Who Wants to Be A Millionaire? set. Somewhere that’s so familiar but you’re now in the middle of it for real. It was a very odd feeling.

But it helped so much, of course, with everything I had been thinking about, like, ‘Would Chris Tarrant have heard the coughing? How close was he? What’s the actual physical relationship between all these people?’ Because when you watch shows on TV you assume things are much bigger than they actually are. Then when you actually go somewhere and see if for real you realise, ‘Wow, it’s really small. It’s not like it is at all on the TV.’

It was very interesting to be able to see, for example, Tecwen Whittock was literally right there. Really close to where Chris Tarrant was sitting.’ It made all of that three dimensional for me. Giving an understanding of what might have played out. It also does so much work for you when you’ve got that music and the lights and the effects and the screens and everything happening as it actually would. It really helps. It certainly helped me. And I’m sure it helped Matthew Macfadyen, who plays Charles Ingram, as well.

What was it like being reunited with Matthew Macfadyen on screen?

Matthew is a fantastic actor. But also, just one of the most enjoyable people to be around on set. I had such a great time with him when we did the film of Frost/Nixon. I just laughed and laughed. So, it was lovely to be able to work with him again on this. I think he deserves all the success he gets.

Were you there when Charles and Diana Ingram visited the set?

No, I wasn’t there for that. In everything I’ve done when I’ve played a real person, I’ve always resisted actually meeting the people if it’s possible – if they are still alive and around. I’ve resisted meeting them whilst you’re working on it because I’ve always been worried that it might compromise what I’m doing. Not that you are trying to do a hatchet job on anyone. But you want to make sure you don’t feel compromised in how you portray someone. I always worry about actually meeting the people. So, I’m kind of glad I wasn’t there for that. Although it is always, obviously, fascinating to meet the actual people.

Have you come to a conclusion about the guilt or innocence of those convicted in this case?

Like most people, I assumed there was no question about the convictions of Charles and Diana Ingram and Tecwen Whittock. They cheated, they were found guilty and they were convicted. I had no reason to assume anything else.

I watched the ITV documentary about it which was very much about how they did do it. But by the end of the documentary I was like, ‘I’m not sure about this.’ I had no reason to question the received opinion about it all. And yet watching a documentary that was very much saying they were guilty; I came out of it with some big questions about it. Feeling a little bit dubious.

Then I read the scripts for Quiz, which are not saying, necessarily, one way or another. But they certainly open up questions again. And I was very open to that. By the end of it I certainly didn’t feel as sure they were guilty as I had in the time between when it happened and then coming to work on this. I don’t really feel qualified to say either way. But it certainly made me question stuff and be open to the possibility that the truth is still to be discovered.

Did you have any idea about the separate group of people who infiltrated Millionaire?

That was a huge revelation to me. The idea of what we call ‘The Syndicate’ which infiltrated the show. That’s fascinating. I think people will be really interested in that. That’s an area that will really shock people. And, of course, it wasn’t illegal.

Would you consider going on the present-day show?

I love a pub quiz. I love anything like that. All of that stuff I’m very much into. And I love TV quiz shows. I’m slightly obsessed with them. That’s pretty much all I watch a lot of the time when I’m back at home. I did The Chase last year. I did Pointless Celebrities. I had this plan that I wanted to try and do every single quiz and game show on British TV. So absolutely. I would definitely do Who Wants to Be A Millionaire? Having played Chris Tarrant, though, I would also like to host an actual show as Chris Tarrant. Because I loved doing that. I’m the sort of person that when you play board games with the family, I really like to be the question asker and the person who’s in charge. I love that.

To get in to do it on Who Wants to Be A Millionaire? for Quiz and getting to be the person who is so brilliant at doing it as well, I loved that. So, I would both like to take part in Who Wants to Be A Millionaire? as a contestant but I would also like to host it. Not as me. As Chris Tarrant.

Some words from Matthew Macfadyen, Sian Clifford and writer James Graham:

Matthew Macfadyen (Charles Ingram)

Where did you film?

We filmed at Wimbledon Studios where they built an exact replica of the Who Wants to Be A Millionaire? set as it looked in the late 1990s. The whole thing exactly as it was. Walking on to that set for the first time was fantastic. No acting was required because you are there under the lights feeling all of that fear real contestants would have felt as they tried to get into the chair.

Sitting in the chair itself was great. Although it wasn’t very comfortable. It was so weird sitting opposite Michael Sheen as Chris Tarrant in that studio.

The first scene we actually shot was where Chris Tarrant was in the witness box at the trial and we are in the dock. Michael was so good in the role. I hadn’t seen him for a while, but we’ve known each other since I was at drama school. We did Frost/Nixon together in 2008. So, it was very nice to be reunited with Michael on this.

Sian Clifford (Diana Ingram)

How was it facing Michael Sheen as Chris Tarrant?

Michael Sheen is just brilliant as Chris Tarrant. It’s such an extraordinary transformation. I couldn’t actually imagine how they were going to make him look like him. Because Michael has this shock of dark, curly hair. Our makeup designer Julie Kendrick has done the most extraordinary job. It wasn’t the most comfortable experience for Michael, but it certainly paid off. He looks and sounds exactly like him. It is very convincing.

James Graham – Writer / Executive Producer

What were your thoughts about the actors cast in the main roles?

I was, of course, absolutely delighted the moment the names Matthew Macfadyen, Michael Sheen and Sian Clifford were being raised. I think it’s a world class cast. While our director Stephen Frears gets to the very heart of what this story is and tells it with such emotional integrity.

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