ITV Who Wants to Be a Millionaire star's tragic death and 'fortune' left in will (2025)

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire: Player stumped by tricky question

One star of ITV quiz show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire left behind an eye-watering £1.5million in his will after his untimely death aged just 50.

Matthew Strachan was found dead in August 2021, weeks after being sentenced at Kingston Crown Court for setting fire to his own house in a drunken suicide attempt in March 2020. He was struggling with the breakdown of his marriage to wife Bernadette.

He was best known as the co-composer of the iconic Who Wants to Be a Millionaire theme music, which he wrote alongside his dad Keith. It took the pair eight days in 1998 to come up with 95 snippets of music to cover the dramatic events on the classic game show.

Music cues were provided for increasingly difficult questions, for contestants losing prize money and for big wins.

Matthew and Keith took home the award for the most-broadcast piece of music on TV for 10 years in a row from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Matthew was also known for his compositions used on shows like EastEnders, The National Lottery and Question Time.

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One star of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire died aged 50 (Image: ITV)

But despite his huge success, Matthew’s life ended in tragedy. A split from his wife left him in a dark place, and Matthew attempted to take his own life in 2020. A court heard he started multiple fires in his kitchen using piles of bedding before calling 999, admitting he would probably be dead before emergency services reached the scene.

Matthew then jumped out of a first-floor window. He was handed a ten month jail sentence, suspended for two years, and told to undergo treatment for alcohol and mental health problems by the court.

Matthew Strachan left behind more than £1.5million in his will (Image: BBC)

In August 2021, however, he passed away. His father Keith told the BBC: “Matthew was loved by his family and he will be sadly missed. He was a warm, funny and talented human being.”

He was reported to have died suddenly at his home in Twickenham, West London. Police did not treat the death as suspicious, though the West London Coroner opened an investigation into his death following a post-mortem.

Matthew left behind a fortune in his will to his wife Bernadette. She inherited £1.58million after legal and funeral expenses were covered.

If you or someone you know has been affected by this story, Samaritans (116 123) operates a 24-hour service available every day of the year. Alternatively, you can find more information on the Samaritans website:
https://www.samaritans.org/