# Baak Maan Fu Yung (百万富翁)
**Baak Maan Fu Yung** (百万富翁; Cantonese Yale: baak3 maan6 fu3 yung1, Jyutping: baak3 maan6 fu3 jung1; literally "The Millionaire") was the Cantonese-language Hong Kong version of the British quiz show *Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?*, licensed from ITV and broadcast by Asia Television (ATV). Hosted by Kenneth Chan (陈启泰), it required contestants to answer 15 multiple-choice questions correctly to win HK$1,000,000, with three lifelines: 50:50, Phone-a-Friend (打电话), and Ask the Audience (问现场观众).[1](https://millionaire.fandom.com/wiki/Baak_Maan_Fu_Yung) The format originated in Britain, first airing in 1998, and by 2001 had 40 language versions broadcast in 56 countries and regions.[2](https://web.archive.org/web/20030125005303/http:/www.cjr.com.cn/gb/node2/node26108/node27328/node28302/userobject15ai1394614.html) ATV bought the format from ITV, and four series ran in the original run.[3](https://movie.douban.com/subject/26779277/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Native title | 百万富翁 (traditional) / 百万富翁 (simplified), romanised Baak Maan Fu Yung, literally "The Millionaire"[1](https://millionaire.fandom.com/wiki/Baak_Maan_Fu_Yung) |
| Broadcaster and premiere | ATV Home, first aired April 29, 2001, in the Monday, Wednesday, Friday prime-time slot[1](https://millionaire.fandom.com/wiki/Baak_Maan_Fu_Yung) • [3](https://movie.douban.com/subject/26779277/) |
| Licensing cost | A reported HK$30 million for 48 episodes of rights[2](https://web.archive.org/web/20030125005303/http:/www.cjr.com.cn/gb/node2/node26108/node27328/node28302/userobject15ai1394614.html) |
| Game structure | 15 multiple-choice questions for HK$1,000,000; lifelines 50:50, 打电话 (Phone-a-Friend), 问现场观众 (Ask the Audience)[1](https://millionaire.fandom.com/wiki/Baak_Maan_Fu_Yung) |
| Peak ratings | 18 rating points, over one million viewers nightly during the first run[2](https://web.archive.org/web/20030125005303/http:/www.cjr.com.cn/gb/node2/node26108/node27328/node28302/userobject15ai1394614.html) |
| Prize money, 2001 | 117 episodes from April 30 to December 31, 2001, giving away over HK$10 million, including one full millionaire[2](https://web.archive.org/web/20030125005303/http:/www.cjr.com.cn/gb/node2/node26108/node27328/node28302/userobject15ai1394614.html) |
| Revival | Season 5 of 90 episodes, January 29 to June 1, 2018, hosted by Stephen Chan (陈志云)[1](https://millionaire.fandom.com/wiki/Baak_Maan_Fu_Yung) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
#### The 2001–2005 run
Hong Kong, spring 2001. A contestant sits in the hot seat facing fifteen multiple-choice questions of rising difficulty and rising money, from HK$1,000 up to HK$1,000,000. Behind the scenes, ATV, the perennial runner-up in a two-station market, has bet roughly HK$30 million on the British quiz format and rebuilt its primetime schedule around this single chair. The rules are simple. A fastest-finger round selects one contestant from ten. Three lifelines offer escape: 50:50, which removes two wrong answers; Ask the Audience; and Phone a Friend. Walk away and you keep your winnings; answer wrong one rung too high and you crash back to a guaranteed floor.
The early weeks set the show's rhythm. Host Kenneth Chan, an eleven-year entertainment veteran suddenly doing more interviews in two months than in his whole career, learns to stretch each question into theater, repeating the answer options in his baritone while the contestant sweats. Within weeks more than 400,000 Hongkongers have registered to compete. On July 2, 2001, toy wholesaler Ho Yuk-lun (何玉麟) walks off with HK$500,000, the show's first record prize, and the million-dollar question reaches the public for the first time. It makes the front pages.
The celebrity specials arrive like festivals. In the celebrity charity edition, lyricist James Wong (黄沾) is asked which writer liked to sprinkle perfume on her manuscripts. The answer is his ex-girlfriend, columnist Lam Yan-yan (林燕妮), and Wong swears on live television, to the delight of the city. The charity special peaks at a 39-point rating, crushing TVB's Miss Hong Kong pageant, which peaks at 30.
**On August 20, 2001, the show stages its most famous episode: the Shaolin Soccer special, in which Stephen Chow takes the host's chair and Kenneth Chan sits in the hot seat.** Chow, promoting his blockbuster, sets his own conditions. He wants the guaranteed high prize, and he wants to swap roles: he will play host while Kenneth Chan sits in the chair and answers the questions. The episode plays as pure comedy, the film's star deadpanning through the hosting duties while the show's actual host sweats over trivia, and it ends with the million handed over on air. Two decades later Chan would reveal the truth: the giveaway was staged, a prearranged publicity stunt, and the next day's front-page coverage was worth far more than the prize money. It became a classic marketing case study.
The show's genuine climax comes on October 28, 2001. Advertising producer Chan Hon-cheung (陈汉翔), calm and unhurried through the fastest-finger round, works his way up the money tree. He spends Ask the Audience on the HK$8,000 question about which film is French, and Phone a Friend on the HK$80,000 question about which organ crabs lack. At the top, one lifeline remains: 50:50. He plays it on the million-dollar question about the Butterfly Spring, and the two surviving answers are Yunnan and Sichuan. He analyzes, hesitates, then answers Yunnan with certainty. Hong Kong's first genuine millionaire is made that night, and the phrase "empty streets" appears in the next day's papers, so completely had the city stopped to watch. Front pages across Hong Kong carry the story as headlines.
By the end of 2001 the show has aired 117 episodes, given away more than HK$10 million, produced five HK$500,000 winners and one real millionaire, and paid back its HK$30 million investment with profit. The war with TVB is another story. TVB answers in August 2001 with its own import, The Weakest Link (一笔OUT消), hosted by Carol Cheng with a HK$3 million top prize and a much crueler spirit. On the first head-to-head night The Weakest Link wins, 27 points to 24; the next night Baak Maan Fu Yung reverses it, 29 to 21. TVB briefly overtakes it at 24 points, and the quiz war becomes the city's running entertainment in itself.
The run continues to 2005. On February 7, 2003, Cheng Tak-cheung (郑裕祥) becomes the fourth and final millionaire of the original era, joining James Wong and Petrina Fung (July 15, 2001), [Stephen Chow](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-chow) and Lee Man, and Chan Hon-cheung. The format burns bright and then fades with ATV's fortunes, ending March 20, 2005.
#### The 2018 revival
Hong Kong, 2018. ATV is long gone from free television, but the brand is too valuable to bury. The show returns on January 29, 2018, now hosted by media figure Stephen Chan, running through June 1, 2018. It is a nostalgia exercise more than a phenomenon; the quiz war of 2001 is never repeated.
### Characters
- **Kenneth Chan (陈启泰)** is the host and the show's true protagonist. He began by needling contestants with sharp questions about their abilities and gradually softened into what RTHK's analysts called a friendly notary, the man who certifies each answer with "最后答案?". His delivery made "五十五十" (fifty-fifty) and "最后答案" part of everyday Hong Kong speech.
- **Stephen Chow (周星驰)** guest-stars in the [Shaolin Soccer](https://www.edgepedia.org/shaolin-soccer) special, commandeering the host's chair and winning a staged million for charity, the single most rewatched episode of the run.
- **Chan Hon-cheung (陈汉翔)** is the first genuine millionaire, an advertising producer whose steady nerves on the Butterfly Spring question made him a one-day national celebrity.
- **James Wong (黄沾)**, the legendary lyricist, supplies the celebrity edition's most memorable moment by cursing on air when asked about his ex-girlfriend's perfume-sprinkled manuscripts.
- **Lau Sai-yin (刘锡贤)** appears as a regular ATV face alongside Chan in the credits.
### Interpretations and controversies
The show's biggest controversy arrived decades late. In a 2026 interview, Kenneth Chan admitted that the celebrity charity editions operated on a "提水机制", a hint mechanism decided by producer and director: some celebrities were fed clues so they would win big, while others were deliberately left without help as "sacrifices" for dramatic effect. He singled out actress Chan Chih-ching (陈芷菁), whose panicked wrong answer and cry of "我读Drama㗎!" (I studied drama!) became an eternal meme precisely because her episode had no hint mechanism. Chan said he still feels guilty and plans to invite her onto a new game show to make amends. The Stephen Chow million, meanwhile, was confirmed as staged, reframing the show's most joyous episode as its most calculated publicity coup.
Cultural commentators at the time debated what the show meant. RTHK's Media Digest read it as an embodiment of meritocracy: everyone wins something, and higher stakes bring harder questions, a contrast with The Weakest Link's cutthroat elimination. Others credited it with reversing Hong Kong's "anti-intellectual" streak by making knowledge profitable, while psychologists noted viewers enjoyed both superiority over the contestants and shared tension with them.
### Sequels, spin-offs, and adaptations
The series adapts the British format Who Wants to Be a [Millionaire](https://www.edgepedia.org/millionaire), created by David Briggs, who spent three years pitching it before the original launched on ITV on September 4, 1998. By 2001 the format had reached 56 countries in 40 languages; Hong Kong's version was the only Chinese-language edition. The 2018 revival with Stephen Chan is the direct sequel. TVB's The Weakest Link (一笔OUT消) is best understood as the rival spawned by its success.
## Format and rules
The game followed the international *Millionaire* template: a contestant faced increasingly difficult multiple-choice questions, each raising the prize. Reaching HK$1,000,000 required answering all 15 questions correctly.[1](https://millionaire.fandom.com/wiki/Baak_Maan_Fu_Yung) Three lifelines were available: 50:50, Phone-a-Friend (打电话), a call to a contact for advice, and Ask the Audience (问现场观众), a studio audience vote.[1](https://millionaire.fandom.com/wiki/Baak_Maan_Fu_Yung)
**Hosting style.** Kenneth Chan became famous for waving a pre-written cheque at contestants to tempt them to walk away, a style that made him a household name in Hong Kong.[2](https://web.archive.org/web/20030125005303/http:/www.cjr.com.cn/gb/node2/node26108/node27328/node28302/userobject15ai1394614.html) The 2018 revival kept the three lifelines but reduced the first milestone to HK$6,000, attributed to a supposed calculation error in the old version, and was hosted by Stephen Chan rather than Kenneth Chan.[1](https://millionaire.fandom.com/wiki/Baak_Maan_Fu_Yung)
## Prize structure
The prize ladder ran from HK$1,000 at question 1 to HK$1,000,000 at question 15. A wrong answer at question 15 dropped the contestant to HK$60,000.[1](https://millionaire.fandom.com/wiki/Baak_Maan_Fu_Yung) The values of the intermediate safe havens, the guaranteed amounts a contestant keeps after a wrong answer, are reported inconsistently: one account places them at HK$8,000 (question 5) and HK$60,000 (question 10), while another places them at HK$40,000 (question 10) and HK$500,000 (question 14).[1](https://millionaire.fandom.com/wiki/Baak_Maan_Fu_Yung)
## Production and broadcast history
ATV purchased the Hong Kong rights to the format for a reported HK$30 million covering 48 episodes.[2](https://web.archive.org/web/20030125005303/http:/www.cjr.com.cn/gb/node2/node26108/node27328/node28302/userobject15ai1394614.html) The show premiered in the prime-time slot of ATV Home; the fan wiki dates the first episode to April 29, 2001,[1](https://millionaire.fandom.com/wiki/Baak_Maan_Fu_Yung) while a contemporary Chinese media feature dates the premiere to April 30, 2001.[2](https://web.archive.org/web/20030125005303/http:/www.cjr.com.cn/gb/node2/node26108/node27328/node28302/userobject15ai1394614.html) Douban records the first series as airing on ATV Home on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.[3](https://movie.douban.com/subject/26779277/)
The episode count of the first run is also reported two ways: 117 episodes aired from April 30 to December 31, 2001,[2](https://web.archive.org/web/20030125005303/http:/www.cjr.com.cn/gb/node2/node26108/node27328/node28302/userobject15ai1394614.html) or 155 episodes from April 29 to December 31, 2001 for Season 1.[1](https://millionaire.fandom.com/wiki/Baak_Maan_Fu_Yung) The fan wiki lists five seasons in total: Season 1 (155 episodes, April 29 to December 31, 2001), Season 2 (100 episodes, July 22, 2002 to February 7, 2003), Season 3 (13 episodes, May 16 to August 8, 2004), Season 4 (8 episodes, January 8 to March 20, 2005), and Season 5 (90 episodes, January 29 to June 1, 2018), with the first run concluding on March 20, 2005.[1](https://millionaire.fandom.com/wiki/Baak_Maan_Fu_Yung)
## Notable contestants and winners
A millionaire was made on October 28, 2001, an event that drew a citywide audience and ran as front-page headlines in the newspapers.[2](https://web.archive.org/web/20030125005303/http:/www.cjr.com.cn/gb/node2/node26108/node27328/node28302/userobject15ai1394614.html) Several contestants and celebrity pairs reached the top prize: [Chris Chan](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-chan) (HK$1,000,000, November 2, 2001); Stephen Chow (周星驰) and Erica Li (李敏) in the Shaolin Soccer charity special (HK$1,000,000, August 20, 2001); James Wong (黄沾) and Petrina Fung (冯宝宝) in a celebrity charity special (HK$1,000,000, July 15, 2001); and Cheng Tak-Cheung (郑德聪?) in the million-dollar tournament (HK$1,000,000, February 7, 2003).[1](https://millionaire.fandom.com/wiki/Baak_Maan_Fu_Yung)
**Charity specials.** In the Shaolin Soccer charity special, aired against the premiere of TVB's 《一笔OUT消》, Stephen Chow guest-hosted and, paired with the writer Li Min (李敏), answered all questions correctly to win HK$1,000,000; the evening raised HK$1,714,000 for sick children at [Queen Mary Hospital](https://www.edgepedia.org/queen-mary-hospital).[4](https://ent.sina.com.cn/v/2001-08-21/54513.html) Celebrity and Shaolin Soccer specials served as ratings weapons; the celebrity edition featured a question about the writer Lim Yin-na (林燕妮), and in the Shaolin Soccer edition Chow quizzed Kenneth Chan himself, leaving him visibly nervous and answering little.[2](https://web.archive.org/web/20030125005303/http:/www.cjr.com.cn/gb/node2/node26108/node27328/node28302/userobject15ai1394614.html) From April 30 to December 31, 2001, five contestants won HK$500,000 and one won the full million.[2](https://web.archive.org/web/20030125005303/http:/www.cjr.com.cn/gb/node2/node26108/node27328/node28302/userobject15ai1394614.html)
## The 2001–2002 ratings war
Ratings rose from single digits to double digits, peaking at 18 points with over one million viewers watching nightly during the first run.[2](https://web.archive.org/web/20030125005303/http:/www.cjr.com.cn/gb/node2/node26108/node27328/node28302/userobject15ai1394614.html)
TVB responded by importing another British game, *The Weakest Link* (港译《一笔OUT消》), hosted by Do Do Cheng (郑裕玲) with a HK$3,000,000 top prize. It premiered on August 20, 2001 and reached 24 rating points by month's end, briefly overtaking 《百万富翁》.[2](https://web.archive.org/web/20030125005303/http:/www.cjr.com.cn/gb/node2/node26108/node27328/node28302/userobject15ai1394614.html) The war then spawned a wave of further quiz shows: ATV's 《各出其谋》 (January 2002, hosted by 林建明) and 《群雄夺宝》 (April 2002, hosted by 朱慧珊), and TVB's 《智在必得》 (hosted by 郑丹瑞) and 《一触即发》 (hosted by 黄子华).[2](https://web.archive.org/web/20030125005303/http:/www.cjr.com.cn/gb/node2/node26108/node27328/node28302/userobject15ai1394614.html)
## By the numbers
- **Licensing**: a reported HK$30 million for 48 episodes of format rights.[2](https://web.archive.org/web/20030125005303/http:/www.cjr.com.cn/gb/node2/node26108/node27328/node28302/userobject15ai1394614.html)
- **Episodes**: 117 episodes in 2001 by the contemporary count,[2](https://web.archive.org/web/20030125005303/http:/www.cjr.com.cn/gb/node2/node26108/node27328/node28302/userobject15ai1394614.html) or 155 for Season 1 by the fan wiki's count,[1](https://millionaire.fandom.com/wiki/Baak_Maan_Fu_Yung) with four series in the original run.[3](https://movie.douban.com/subject/26779277/)
- **Ratings**: a peak of 18 points and more than one million viewers nightly.[2](https://web.archive.org/web/20030125005303/http:/www.cjr.com.cn/gb/node2/node26108/node27328/node28302/userobject15ai1394614.html)
- **Prize money**: over HK$10 million given away in 2001, with five HK$500,000 winners and one HK$1,000,000 winner.[2](https://web.archive.org/web/20030125005303/http:/www.cjr.com.cn/gb/node2/node26108/node27328/node28302/userobject15ai1394614.html)
- **International spread**: 40 language versions in 56 countries and regions by 2001.[2](https://web.archive.org/web/20030125005303/http:/www.cjr.com.cn/gb/node2/node26108/node27328/node28302/userobject15ai1394614.html)
## Legacy
The show became a standard case in the study of global television format localization. Anthony Fung, a scholar at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, published an August 2001 Chinese-language study, 《全球电视模式本地化：谈《百万富翁》对本港电视台的冲击》 ("Global TV format localisation: the impact of Baak Maan Fu Yung on Hong Kong television stations"), in the journal 《传媒透视》 (pages 2–3), analyzing the localization of the format and its impact on Hong Kong broadcasters.[5](https://research.cuhk.edu.hk/en/publications/%E5%85%A8%E7%90%83%E9%9B%BB%E8%A6%96%E6%A8%A1%E5%BC%8F%E6%9C%AC%E5%9C%B0%E5%8C%96%E8%AB%87%E7%99%BE%E8%90%AC%E5%AF%8C%E7%BF%81%E5%B0%8D%E6%9C%AC%E6%B8%AF%E9%9B%BB%E8%A6%96%E5%8F%B0%E7%9A%84%E8%A1%9D%E6%93%8A-2/) A 2001 book from Huacheng Press (花城出版社), compiled by ATV, covered the origins, rules, and question design of 《百万富翁》 alongside mainland Chinese quiz shows 《开心辞典》, 《幸运52》, 《步步为赢》, and 《过关斩将》.[6](https://www.dushu.com/book/10018912/)
The 2018 revival, announced in December 2017, brought the format back for a 90-episode fifth season, with Stephen Chan as host and a reduced first milestone of HK$6,000.[1](https://millionaire.fandom.com/wiki/Baak_Maan_Fu_Yung)
## References
1. [Baak Maan Fu Yung — Millionaire Wiki (Fandom)](https://millionaire.fandom.com/wiki/Baak_Maan_Fu_Yung)
2. [中国新闻传播学评论 (CJR) — Hong Kong quiz-show ratings war feature (archived)](https://web.archive.org/web/20030125005303/http:/www.cjr.com.cn/gb/node2/node26108/node27328/node28302/userobject15ai1394614.html)
3. [百万富翁 (豆瓣)](https://movie.douban.com/subject/26779277/)
4. [反客为主担任主持 周星驰成为"百万富翁" (Sina Entertainment, 2001-08-21)](https://ent.sina.com.cn/v/2001-08-21/54513.html)
5. [全球電視模式本地化：談《百萬富翁》對本港電視台的衝擊 (Anthony Fung, CUHK)](https://research.cuhk.edu.hk/en/publications/%E5%85%A8%E7%90%83%E9%9B%BB%E8%A6%96%E6%A8%A1%E5%BC%8F%E6%9C%AC%E5%9C%B0%E5%8C%96%E8%AB%87%E7%99%BE%E8%90%AC%E5%AF%8C%E7%BF%81%E5%B0%8D%E6%9C%AC%E6%B8%AF%E9%9B%BB%E8%A6%96%E5%8F%B0%E7%9A%84%E8%A1%9D%E6%93%8A-2/)
6. [百万富翁 (读书网 book entry, 花城出版社 2001)](https://www.dushu.com/book/10018912/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Unscripted, reality, and web-native series › Reality and competition franchise editions › Reality and competition franchises — overview and format history › Premiered 1995 to 2021*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license