Who Wants to be a Millionaire Ask the Expert Lifeline

The Ask the Expert lifeline on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is one of four different lifelines contestants can use to help them answer a question. Ask the Expert has to be earned, however. Once the contestant reaches the $1,000 level on the money ladder, this lifeline is made available to him for the rest of his game.

Each week (or, in the case of the Millionaire 10th Anniversary prime time event, in each episode), a different expert is chosen by producers to be on hand, ready when any contestant needs his or her help.

The identity of the expert is announced at the beginning of each show, when experts are introduced to contestants and the audience. The expert is available via Skype, with both audio and video feeds. When a contestant chooses to use the Ask the Expert lifeline, the clock is stopped, and the expert is contacted and fed the question by video along with the four possible answers.

At this point, the expert either provides the answer, helps to logically think through some of the choices, or admits that he really doesn't know. After this, the clock begins again, and the contestant can then answer the question, use another lifeline, or walk away with the money he has banked so far.

Occasionally, the Skype service is unavailable and the expert is contacted by telephone, much in the same way as the Phone-a-Friend lifeline works. The difference though is that the host will then ask the question and provide the four possible answers, rather than the contestant.

As of the 2010-2011 season, Ask the Expert has been retired from the game.