By ELEANOR MANN, JUNIOR NEWS REPORTER

Published: 14:38 GMT, 30 December 2025 | Updated: 16:13 GMT, 30 December 2025

A Who Wants To Be A Millionaire contestant jailed over a spread betting fraud has been ordered to pay back £4million in ill-gotten gains. 

Jeff Arundell, 75, who appeared on the hit television show in March 2000, tricked friends and family with promises of a 'risk-free' investment. 

In 2023, he was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison after being convicted of offences including fraud and money laundering, which he is currently serving. But he will now also have to repay the money after a court ruled he had made millions through dishonest financial activity.  

Arundell, from Bath, Somerset, returned to Bristol Crown Court this month for a hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act, where a judge assessed the benefit he had gained from his crimes. 

On December 19, Judge Blair ruled that Arundell had profited by £4.8million and ordered him to pay back a total of £4,140,428.59. 

More than £220,000 of that total will be used to compensate those who lost money. If the sum is not paid, Arundell will receive an additional eight years in prison. 

In an episode of the ITV show aired in 2000, Arundell answered just six questions correctly before walking away with only £1,000. He needed to use the 50/50 to correctly answer that an anaconda is a snake and got the £4,000 question wrong. 

DCI Carlos Filippsen, of Avon and Somerset Police, said: 'This is a significant result against an offender who was convicted of fraud and money laundering offences in November 2023. 

Jeff Arundell (pictured) appeared on the hit television show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire back in 2000, where he won just £1,000

Arundell, 75, got the £4,000 question wrong on whether an anaconda is a snake 

'The convictions and subsequent confiscation orders in this case show how we will pursue offenders who directly target victims, including stripping them of any assets they have gained through crime. 

'Ensuring that we have been able to return those funds to the victims and for the perpetrator to not be able to benefit from his criminal activity demonstrates our commitment to ensuring that crime does not and will not pay.'

'I hope this will deter other criminals who may be involved in these despicable offences, by showing that they will be convicted and have their ill-gotten gains removed,' he added. 

The case dates back to late 2016, when Arundell persuaded a friend to invest after claiming he had advance knowledge that shares in a pharmaceutical firm were about to surge. 

Family members were also drawn in, and around £108,000 was handed over. He assured them their money was safe and said he would personally cover any losses.