Former students heap praise on 'marvellous' teacher who won £500k on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire

But could YOU have cracked the last question to walk away with £1M?
Eleanor Rose5 March 2019

Former pupils of a "marvellous" English teacher who landed £500,000 on Who Wants to be a Millionaire have hailed his win saying he deserves every penny.

John Robinson, 36, from Birmingham, was the first person in 13 years of the well-loved series to make it to the final question on Monday night.

He had stormed through the quiz in a performance described by host Jeremy Clarkson as "extraordinary".

To win a million, he was asked which out of former prime ministers Winston Churchill, Alec Douglas-Home, Anthony Eden and Harold Macmillan had not served as Foreign Secretary.

John is mobbed by members of the Bishop Challoner English Department who tweeted he 'isn't going anywhere'

The teacher, who has worked at Bishop Challoner Catholic College for five years, said: "I think it's probably between B and C but to be honest I'm not prepared to risk £436,000."

"I think it would take several years of teaching to take £500,000 home so I think I’m going to take the money, final answer."

Instead of chancing it for the top prize, Mr Robinson walked away with his winnings - and people who know him couldn't be happier.

"Go [you] Mr Robinson," wrote one delighted former pupil.

She added the happy memory that he "gave me the highest grade I ever got in Year 8."

Another student wrote: "Anything more wholesome than watching ur old teacher win £500k on who wants to be a millionaire ??? U deserve the world and more u angel x"

Mr Clarkson praised the teacher's performance, too, saying: "What a player, what a fabulous player. Well done. That was incredible.

"There’s a lot you can do with that. It really does set you up, which is tremendous."

Mr Robinson's English department tweeted a picture of a group bear-hugging him in celebration alongside the caption: "We are SO proud of John Robinson."

Friends piled in to say how "marvellous" the teacher is after his amazing performance.

He and his loved ones have had to keep quiet about his success for two months, as the show was filmed in January.

One parent of a former student congratulated him on his prize, remembering his contribution to her daughter's education.

She wrote: "Hope ppl are cheering on John Robinson on Who wants to be a millionaire, he used to teach my daughters English."

Another wrote: "Well done to Mr Robinson this evening on 'Who wants to be a millionaire' my son was really proud to say you was his English Teacher."

The last time anyone cracked the final £1 million question was quiz enthusiast Ingram Wilcox who walked away with the maximum prize in 2006.

Despite his newly acquired fortune, Mr Robinson said he plans to keep teaching as he described modest goals for the future.

He said: "My plan is to carry on working for a little bit to keep a bit of stability... At some point over the next year buy a new house and go travelling maybe."

Describing how he gained general knowledge by playing Trivial Pursuit, Mr Robinson put his huge success partly down to luck.

"I think I've always quite liked learning facts and fortunately some of the facts that I learnt came up on the show," he said.

He joked however that he could be in for a rough ride in the classroom, adding: "It might lead to kids I teach teasing me for my geeky knowledge about how much stuff I know."

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