WILTSHIRE Major Charles Ingram is unlikely to appeal against his conviction for cheating on the TV quiz Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?.

In an interview with BBC News 24 he described his conviction as 'absolutely awful' and also called the ITV Tonight With Trevor McDonald documentary on the case as 'disgraceful.'

Asked if he and his wife were likely to appeal, Maj Ingram, 39, said: 'Each of the defendants are separate on this, but I'm unlikely to appeal from my point of view, everything came up within the case.'

His wife, Diana, who was also interviewed, added: 'We're keen to clear our names and reputations, it's under review but probably unlikely.'

Asked how he felt to be convicted for fraud, Maj Ingram, of Easterton, Wiltshire, told the Hardtalk programme: 'This feels absolutely awful. None of us cheated. There was no planning to cheat, no attempt to cheat, no scam. The verdict was perverse.'

Meanwhile, Mrs Ingram said of the Tonight special: 'It was absolutely disgusting. It didn't represent what happened with the studio.

'It would have been far fairer and more honourable to have shown what Charles would have really heard.'

Maj Ingram added: 'To call it an opportunity for the public to decide is disgraceful; it was wholly and utterly one-sided and far away from what actually happened.'

The makers of the Tonight special denied the Ingrams' earlier suggestion that the programme was one-sided.

Editor James Goldston said: 'The programme was not unfairly or selectively edited in any way. We are sure viewers will have made up their own minds.'

Asked if he believed that money could buy happiness, Maj Ingram said: 'What is important to me is my wife and children. Money can go some way to supporting that, they are what is important to me.'

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Dateline: Monday, April 28, 2003