Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? viewers seemed impressed by Jeremy Clarkson hosting debut on the show when it returned on Saturday night - however, the actual contestants bagged just £10,000 in total.
The Grand Tour presenter took a break from his normal motoring programming to quiz contestants and littered his performance with a number of quips.
He also made attempts at a Scottish accent, took aim at Richard Hammond’s reputation for crashing, and referenced the show’s coughing scandal.
However, his three contestants failed to impress, winning a combined total of just £10,000.
Ricky Holmes, from Yorkshire, took home £8,000 before deciding to call it quits while Heather from Woking and Scottish hopeful James reached the £1,000 milestone before both answering questions incorrectly.
I have to admit, I had written off Jeremy Clarkson presenting #WWTBAM before I’d even seen it, but I’m pelasantly surprised, he’s ACE! 😆#Millionaire
— Grant Rivers (@SnowAndBeach) May 5, 2018
There was also a slight mishap during Ricky’s run as his Phone A Friend, Matthew, went straight to voicemail.
Fortunately he picked up at the second time of asking before receiving a barrage of jokes from Clarkson.
On social media the response was positive, with one viewer writing on Twitter: "Coughing jokes … Trump jokes … Yorkshire accents Jeremy Clarkson has already nailed it!"
@Emperorbort wrote: "Wasn’t sold on Jeremy Clarkson as host at first but he’s got the serious nature like Tarrant and jokes about the questions, contestants and audience like Tarrant had. A fine choice so far."
Viewers praised his comic approach to the first show which comes as he takes over from the game show’s previous host Chris Tarrant for a week of 20th anniversary shows and some even thought he was a better choice than his predecessor.
Let's face it, we've all been there 😂#Millionaire @MillionaireUK @JeremyClarkson pic.twitter.com/CFYSfrEDDU
— ITV (@ITV) May 5, 2018
At one point, he told the audience: "No coughing now", in reference to former contestant Charles Ingram, who in 2001 planted a friend in the audience to cough every time a correct answer was read out.
He was also successful when tested by Holmes who used the show’s new lifeline, Ask The Host, for a question on Surrey’s cricket stadium, The Oval.
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? returns on Sunday night on ITV, and will continue nightly throughout the week at 9pm for a further five episodes.
