Jeremy Clarkson was at a loss for words during Saturday’s Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? when one gameshow contestant completely smashed a 14-year record with her speedy fingers.
The record was shattered during the show’s Fastest Finger round, which determines the next contestant to face the 15-question quiz.
Each hopeful was asked to arrange four birds in order based on their weight, from the heaviest to the lightest – and Michelle Brooks guessed correctly.
Not only that, but Michelle ordered them correctly in less than a second – 0.74 seconds to be exact, leaving Clarkson speechless.
When he could finally speak again, he said: ‘I can’t believe that 0.74 seconds, that’s less than a second. We’ve established that your fingers work very well.’
‘But,’ he then teased as Michelle got up to sit in the hot seat, ‘what about this?’ He pointed to his head, and the game was underway.
Michelle, nervous but excited, responded by saying she had faith in her knowledge: ‘Hopefully the adrenaline will help. We’ll see how we go.’
The record Michelle beat was set in 2008 by Johnathan Pash, who qualified for the quiz with a Fastest Finger time of 0.97 seconds.
Viewers on Twitter couldn’t believe their eyes, with former Millionaire contestants giving their two sense about Michelle’s record-breaking button smashing.
‘I [quickly jabbed all four buttons] in 2002, so I too was lightning fast. Sadly, I was utterly wrong,’ one of the show’s former hopefuls said on social media.
As for how Michelle fared once she started the famous quiz, which was hosted by Chris Tarrant until February 2014, she walked away with £32,000.
Stumped by a question midway through, she played it safe and secured the money she’d already accrued over the previous 30 minutes.
Last month on the show, a contestant that no, the gameshow isn’t taped once a week – it’s taped over the course of a single day.
When quiz enthusiast Maria ran out of time at the end of her episode, Clarkson said to her: ‘Ah well, you know what that means.’
To which Maria responded by saying: ‘I’ve got to go and get changed. I’m not meant to say that, am I?’ She and Clarkson laughed it off.
Clarkson carried on: ‘That’s exactly what it is, and then, you’re absolutely right, I’ll be seeing you in about an hour’s time.’
Maria apologised as Clarkson added: ‘But as far as the viewers are concerned, you’re going home, you’re going to be panicking, and then we’ll see you next week!’
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? is available for catch up on the ITV Hub.