Next Who Wants To Be A Millionaire Host Odds: McGuinness Favourite If Clarkson Leaves
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Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? is to make a long-awaited return to TV screens this month, more than a year since it was last on ITV.
Jeremy Clarkson will host the upcoming 39th series, which will return on January 28, but there has been plenty of speculation on betting sites about who could replace him should the channel decide to let him go ahead of series 40, if there even is one.
ITV were due to air the show last autumn, but their 2023 Rugby World Cup coverage led to several programmes being pushed back, including Millionaire, and it hasn't aired since October 2022.
Last March, Jeremy and ITV were forced to deny speculation he had been axed from the quiz show after five years.
The channel said in a statement in March 2023: "For the avoidance of doubt, neither Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? nor Jeremy Clarkson have been cancelled."
The statement came after their chief executive Carolyn McCall had admitted the channel had "no future commitments" with the host after the upcoming Millionaire season.
Jeremy is no stranger to controversy after previously being dropped from Top Gear in 2015 for punching show producer Oisin Tymon.
Clarkson found himself in hot water again in December 2023 when he wrote about Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, being paraded naked in the street in a newspaper column for The Sun.
It was subsequently ruled sexist by Ipso, the Independent Press Standards Organisation.
Despite his controversy, Jeremy is set to make his Millionaire return this month, but if he is replaced after the upcoming series, who might take over?
Let The Paddy See The Millionaires
Top Gear host Paddy McGuinness is favourite to follow in Jeremy's career footsteps by landing the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? role, should Jeremy depart.
ITV favourite Paddy - who hosted dating game show Take Me Out for nine years - is 2/1 on specials betting sites to land the position, but he faces stiff competition from the likes of Bradley Walsh.
Bradley, who is 3/1, knows a thing or two about hosting ITV quiz shows as he has fronted The Chase since 2009, but it might be a bit of overkill if he was to present a similar programme on the channel.
If ITV are looking to take Millionaire in a different direction then Dancing on Ice host Holly Willoughby could get the nod, and her diary should be clearer than it has been in years after she departed This Morning last year.
Holly is 4/1 to take over hosting duties from Jeremy, while her former This Morning colleagues Josie Gibson (10/1) and Alison Hammond (16/1) could be in the conversation.
ITV bosses also might consider Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker (7/1) - who has hosted two series of ITV game show Sitting on a Fortune - or Tenable presenter Warwick Davis (12/1).
But Jeremy's former Top Gear co-hosts James May and Richard Hammond, who are both 33/1, are unlikely to be interested, and it is a massive 50/1 that original Millionaire host Chris Tarrant, who Jeremy took over from, reprises his role in the hotseat.
Jeremy To Moo-ve Into Farming
Should Jeremy depart Millionaire then he is just 1/2 on betting apps to become a full-time farmer.
He documents the running of his Diddly Squat Farm on his popular Amazon Prime documentary series Clarkson's Farm, and it wouldn't be a huge shock if he turned his back on TV altogether to dedicate all his time to farming.
His Clarkson's Farm co-star Kaleb Cooper has recently released a charity rap about his dislike of sheep, aptly-named I Can’t Stand Sheep!, and if Jeremy fancies a more adventurous next job he could follow in Kaleb's footsteps and forge a new career in the music industry.
He is 66/1 to become a rapper or musician next. A more likely destination might see him host another quiz show (2/1), or present a radio show (3/1).
You could also get 5/1 on Clarkson becoming a Conservative MP in the next UK general election, but given the Tory Party’s current polling figures that may be a bet to avoid.
His latest Clarkson's Farm series was dominated with his plans to set up a restaurant on his farm, and it's 10/1 he becomes a restauranteur after Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
Of the more unlikely jobs he could land, he is 50/1 to become a full-time actor, but perhaps his farming experience could prove useful on ITV soap Emmerdale?
However, he's 5,000/1 to be Meghan Markle's butler. He is more likely to see pigs flying over his farm.
Jeremy Set To Stay At ITV
Whether some like it or not, Jeremy attracts viewers and makes good TV.
While he might be a Marmite character, whether it is his addictive Clarkson's Farm show, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, or old episodes of Top Gear, he is an attractive proposition to most TV producers (his former Top Gear producer aside).
He is 1/2 to be retained by ITV should he depart Millionaire, but 3/1 to be dropped by the channel.
It wouldn't be a huge surprise if ITV let him go from Millionaire and hired the likes of market leader Paddy or ITV darling Bradley in his place.
But don't be shocked if they enlist Jeremy to present another show in the near future, unless he sees his long-term future in farming.
* Reminder: These are hypothetical odds provided by industry experts.
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