Stephen Fry sets new Celebrity Who Wants to be a Millionaire record with £250k win

has made history on Celebrity after becoming the first celebrity to win £250,000 on the how - with a crucial assist from host Jeremy Clarkson. The legendary QI presenter took part in the first episode of the celebrity series, which aired Thursday night (May 8), and stormed through the questions to land the record-breaking win for his chosen charity, mental health organisation Mind. Clarkson played a key role in Fry's success when the "ask the host" lifeline was used for the £64,000 question:

"Which European city out of Brussels, Strasbourg, Munich and Luxembourg City would you come closest to if you walked a straight line from Paris to Berlin?" The correct answer - Luxembourg City - was known by the Clarkson's Farm star, helping Fry progress to the £125,000 round. After a string of correct answers, Fry eventually decided to walk away on the £500,000 question, which asked: "Which of these cover songs entered the UK Top 40 the longest time after the original version first charted?"

The options were: "Tragedy" by Steps, "Fast Car" by Jonas Blue and Dakota, "Uptown Girl" by Westlife, and "Killing Me Softly" by Fugees - with "Fast Car" being the correct answer.

Fry used the phone-a-friend lifeline and called Pointless star Richard Osman for help, but Osman was unable to determine the answer in time. Fry decided not to guess and locked in his total at £250,000.

Speaking after his impressive win, Fry said: "Jeremy is very encouraging, and he was great with the question that took me to a quarter of a million."

"It was a geographical question, and you had to work it out. Jeremy has travelled so much, particularly in the area that the question was about."

"He and I kind of agreed that it was one of two answers, and I thought 'I am going to risk it', and fortunately, it was right."

He praised the new lifeline, calling it a game-changer: "This lifeline is a tremendous addition to the show. If Jeremy doesn't know, he will say but he will take you through the thinking and it slows things down. Once you start getting to the high numbers, you don't want to let the charity down."

Host Jeremy Clarkson described Fry's win as the "biggest celebrity win since I started this show."

Fry, who has been president of Mind since 2011, said he was thrilled to be able to donate such a substantial sum to the cause. "I am delighted and I am not complaining at all," he added. "It was extremely good fun. The time goes so quickly."

Viewers were full of praise for Fry's performance.

One fan wrote: "I love how the genius Stephen Fry on #whowantstobeamillionaire doesn't just answer questions, but gives you full background and historical context to each answer."

Another added: "Stephen Fry knows everything!" while a third viewer declared: "He was excellent!"