Peter Hudson foiled in bid for more dosh by question about charities
A Linklaters lawyer popped up on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire last night, walking away with a cool £32,000.
Peter Hudson, 31, a managing associate in structured finance at the magic circle giant, dropped back from £64,000 after taking a guess with no lifelines left.
The Durham Uni classics graduate raced through the early rounds and put his knowledge of Latin to good use in matching the phrase “carpe diem” to its English translation “seize the day”.
But Hudson, from Richmond, had to ask the audience on a question about booze brands and used two more lifelines to work out the winner of the 2019 Grand National (telling host Jeremy Clarkson that “lawyers are risk-averse as a breed”).
That gave him a guaranteed £32,000, and a combination of logic and guesswork saw Hudson correctly identify the name of the spacecraft that carried the first man into space (“Vostok”).
Make that sound more appealing! #JeremyClarkson #WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire #AskTheHost #ITV #Quiz #WWTBAM pic.twitter.com/mUH9jZ0fQu
— Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? (@MillionaireUK) May 13, 2020
The next question proved even trickier:
“Counting the philanthropist William Wilberforce among its founding members, which of these UK charities was established first?
1. Women’s Institute
2. Barnardo’s
3. RSPCA
4. Salvation Army”
Not a question that would play to the strengths of many commercial lawyers, it must be said, and a stumped Hudson could have cashed in his £64,000 there and then.
But risk-averse be damned: despite knowing that a wrong answer would send him home with half that amount, Hudson declared “you’re only here once” and plumped for “Salvation Army”.
RSPCA was the correct answer. Bonus trivia: the RSPCA, aka the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, was founded in 1824 — 60 years before the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, kids obviously being a lower priority for Victoria philanthropists.
Hudson still took home 32 grand. Decent wedge, but not necessarily life-changing: newly qualified solicitors at Linklaters start on roughly £93,000.
The full episode is available on the ITV website.