by Thinus Ferreira
The Afrikaans version of Sony Pictures' Who wants to be a Millionaire? finally produced a R1 million winner when the George flower farmer Herman Bosman (47) on Wednesday night became the first South African to answer 15 questions correctly to go home with the big prize in the 4th episode of Wie word ’n miljoenêr? on kykNET (DStv 144).
He used his final lifeline – a call to his mother Vida
Bosman (75) – who helped him with the correct answer in the 12th episode of the
show's fourth season on Wednesday night.
The question he had to answer was "Which
relic, preserved in the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, remained intact after
the 2019 fire?" with his mom who told him it's "the crown of
thorns".
Herman Bosman is a flower farmer in George with his partner Anthony Rau and became the first Afrikaans winner of Wie word ’n miljoenêr?.
Herman Bosman is a nuclear
engineer who studied chemical engineering at the University of Pretoria and
completed his PhD at the University of Michigan in the United States.
Herman Bosman says it was the first time he entered for Wie word ’n
miljoenêr? after his dad told him about the show.
"I decided to give it a shot at the
last minute just before entries closed because a little extra cash is always
welcome."
"I had to answer a few
general knowledge questions. I must have done well because the production team
contacted me within a few days for an online video interview, where I answered
more general knowledge questions. After that, they informed me I'd be a
contestant on episode 12, the penultimate episode of the season."
Herman Bosman says he has loved general knowledge and quiz competitions since school.
"During holidays,
I'd take my Trivial Pursuit cards to my uncle and aunt's farm in Morgenzon and
read through them. I was on my high school's quiz team at Richards Bay High,
which won the interschool quiz competition in Zululand around 1993."
"In Grade
11, I entered a quiz show for schools on Afrikaans radio (the predecessor of
RSG). My mom even drove me to the SABC studios in Durban one afternoon after
school to participate. I was eliminated in the first round, but at least the
guy who beat me went on to win the entire competition."
"I still
remember one of the questions – guessing the name of a famous person based on
clues. The answer was Johnny Clegg, but I was just a second too slow on the
buzzer. Even 30 years later, I'm still a little bitter about it."
Herman Bosman says in the weeks leading up to the show, he watched a lot of documentaries to sharpen his general knowledge.
"I was nervous about my knowledge
of sports, so I focused on that as well. Since it was an Olympic year, I
brushed up on South Africa’s history at the Games – and sure enough, I got a
question about it on the show."
He says he was conservative with his lifelines, saving his "Phone a Friend" for the final
question.
"I
included my mom as one of my Phone a Friend contacts, and I had a feeling
this was the kind of thing she would know."
"I was also prepared to walk away with
R500 000 rather than make a wild guess. But when she said she remembered
something about a crown, I was certain she's right."
Herman Bosman says a question about the name of the helicopter on Mars almost stumped him.
"All four
options sounded similar. I used my 50/50 lifeline and, thankfully, was able to
choose correctly between the two remaining answers."
He says his love
for reading comes from his mom.
"She never came back from the library with just
one book – it was always a whole stack. And she remembers everything: books,
music, names, dates. After
the show, I realised this was a real family effort. My dad encouraged me to
apply, and my mom helped with the million rand question."
Herman Bosman says "The
million rand is, of course, incredible, but honestly, the best part was getting
all the questions right".
"I'm very competitive with these kinds of contests, and
now I can always boast that I was kykNET's first million rand winner".
He says the money will go into their farm and flower business.
"We have more plans
than we have money for. So, we'll need to think carefully about where to start.
But the farm bakkie has already been bought shortly after the recording of the
show, and so far, it's driving like a dream!"