A retired IT analyst has become the seventh person to win the £1 million jackpot on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? after a final question with a James Joyce connection.
Roman Dubowski said winning the ITV quiz show, hosted by Jeremy Clarkson, felt "unreal" and that he "had to have a cup of tea" afterwards.
Dubowski correctly answered the 15th and final question: "Used since 1876, which trademarked logo is described in the James Joyce novel Ulysses and depicted in works by Manet and Picasso?"
The options were Bass Ale, The Famous Grouse, Coca-Cola and Stella Artois.
"When it came up… I thought, I think I know this straight away," Dubowski said.
He explained that he had seen Édouard Manet's painting A Bar at the Folies-Bergère at The Courtauld Gallery in London and could "distinctly" remember seeing a red triangle in the painting.
He said the red triangle "has always been the symbol of Bass beer".
Dubowski used his 50/50 lifeline, which narrowed the options to Coca-Cola and Bass Ale, before correctly choosing Bass Ale.
"It felt unreal… it didn’t feel like the real world, almost, this isn’t where I expected to be," he said of the moment he won the jackpot.
"It didn’t sink in until later."
Dubowski said Clarkson had given him "very good" advice about using the 50/50 lifeline, telling him it should be used when a contestant has an "inkling" that one or two of the answers are correct.
Earlier in the show, Dubowski experienced a "strange bit of self-doubt" when he was asked what is mixed with vinegar, mustard and oil to make a basic mayonnaise.
The possible answers were plain flour, salted butter, egg yolk and double cream.
Dubowski said cooking was one of his "weaker points" and used the Ask The Audience lifeline, with 93% of the audience choosing the correct answer, egg yolk.
The contestant said he plans to use some of his prize money to buy a new house, travel, and help his niece and nephew.
Asked what he did after the show, he said: "I did sort of go home quietly, to be honest, I didn’t get drunk – I had to have a cup of tea.
"I think it was just sitting in a quiet room and letting it all sink in, and thinking about what happened in the previous 24 hours."
Dubowski said he had "always" wanted to appear on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? and had applied when Chris Tarrant was still hosting the show, but did not get a response.
The other contestants to have won the £1 million prize on the UK version of the show are Judith Keppel, David Edwards, Robert Brydges, Pat Gibson, Ingram Wilcox and Donald Fear.
Source: Press Association
