ITV quiz show Who Wants to be a Millionaire was back for another festive edition with Jeremy Clarkson at the helm as he welcomed famous faces.

Jeremy Clarkson on Who Wants to be a Millionaire (Image: ITV)

Fans of ITV’s Who Wants to be a Millionaire “switched off” as they complained that a festive episode was “painful” to watch. Host Jeremy Clarkson welcomed a number of celebrity faces to the show as they tested their general knowledge skills in a bid to win up to £1 million.

First up in the hot seat was English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter, Jools Holland. However, he proved that his general knowledge skills were not as strong as his musical skills as he struggled to answered questions without help.

Very early on in the game he had already used most of his lifelines, meaning that he got stuck on one of the lower amount questions. Playing for £16,000 – where he set his safety net – Jools was asked: The ‘Football for Sale’ investigation by the Telegraph newspaper led to the resignation of which England manager?

The optional answers were Fabio Capello, Roy Hodgson, Sven-Goran Eriksson and Sam Allardyce. Working through the answers, Jools said: “Well, football isn’t really my specialist subject but I remember Sven having to leave.

“I don’t know if it was this. So I’m going to try and go for C – because I seem to remember him having to leave. And that is my final answer.”

Jools surprised fans but not in a good way (Image: ITV)

Unfortunately for Jools, Jeremy told the star guest that it was the incorrect answer as he revealed Sam Allardyce to be correct. The musician dropped his head in disappointment as he realised that he was out of the game.

Consoling the star, Jeremy said: “If it makes you feel any better, I wouldn’t have known that.” Jools responded saying: “Oh, well that does make me feel better.”

He added: “Could I ask this – did anyone in the audience know that?” The audience replied with a choir of “yes”.

Despite the loss, Jools was leaving the ITV quiz show with £16,000 for his chosen charities – He had been playing for The Princes Trust & Caring Hands.

While he secured a respectable amount for his charities, fans on social media were less than impressed. Posting to X (formerly Twitter), one user wrote: “God this is painful, it’s starting to irritate me. Switching off. #WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire.”

Another added: “Jools Holland proving to be detached from the real world here. #WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire,” with a third saying: “A safety net at 16k Jules Holland is terrible at this game. #WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire.”

“I expected more of #JoolsHolland … #whowantstobeamillionaire,” one more noted while someone else shared: “Wow. It’s a good job Jools can play the piano well because he’s bloody useless at this…. #whowantstobeamillionaire.”