HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN Millionaire fans gutted as contestant correctly answers £1m question – but doesn’t win jackpot…

Imagine being so close to 1 million, just to have the money slip away…

Well, this is what happened to a Who Wants To Be A Millionaire contestant who managed to correctly answer the £1million question – but didn’t win the jackpot prize.

Retired GP Andrew Townsley won £500,000 and still had one lifeline left, which he used to phone a friend. The final question was about which of the iconic races was held first in the history of motor sport.

Among the potential answers were Le Mans 24 Hours, Monaco Grand Prix, Indy 500 and Isle of Man TT.

Their friend didn’t have any idea about the correct answer, and Andrew decided not to risk it. However Andrew managed to correctly guess the right answer.

And fans were gutted for him after being left on the “edge of their seats” throughout the episode.

One tweeted: “What a guy #WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire.”

While another commented: “Gutted for him but hey still a true legend well done mate #WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire.”

A third wrote: “Half a million result!, unlucky at the end there #WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire.”

“Excellent player on #WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire seems a really nice bloke as well. 500k better off,” another commented.

Speaking to the Daily Mirror after his win, Andrew said: “I felt excited and hopeful when I reached the million pound question. I was obviously disappointed that neither of us felt confident enough to give a definite, and winning answer.

“I said on the show my wife and I fancied seeing Niagara Falls. So, I’d like to plan to visit sights like that where you could get to, in a big old wheelchair. Machu Picchu and Angkor Wat would be fantastic but no longer on our personal list.”