DISGRACED Army major Charles Ingram yesterday accused the makers of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? of being "greedy".

In a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black, Ingram hit out bitterly, accusing Celador of a con-trick.

His outburst came as it was revealed that Easter Monday's ITV documentary on the fraud - entitled Major Fraud - was watched by the biggest TV audience for a factual programme since Princess Diana's funeral in 1997.

Ingram said the Tonight documentary on how he cheated his way to the quiz show's £1m prize was "an incredibly one-sided affair".

He told BBC1's Breakfast: "What the viewers saw was one of the greatest TV editing con-tricks."

The major said he and his wife, Diana, had been denied their request to put their side of the story on the documentary.

Ingram, 39, also hit back at claims on the programme that he was "nice but dim", declaring: "I am not thick. I am a member of Mensa, for goodness sake.

"That was a very, very unfair comment and it is representative of what Celador has done. These people are the greedy people, not us."

Asked how he could explain the well-timed coughs that guided him to the £1m, Ingram said: "I did not notice or hear any coughing on the night.

"The clips that were played last night were wholly unrepresentative of the environment that I was sitting within."

Ingram said his conviction was "extremely humiliating" and "cataclysmic" for his family.

He added: "Celador will make millions and millions of pounds out of this.

"It is them who are being greedy, by entirely misrepresenting to the general public, and for that matter to the court previously, what I actually heard in that studio. It is entirely unfair and wrong.

"On the evidence presented, it is quite clear that I should not have been convicted."

Diana Ingram, 39, denied accusations that she looked repeatedly at accomplice Tecwen Whittock when her husband appeared to be stuck on a question.

She said: "That is ridiculous. To start off with, I did not know what Tecwen Whittock looked like, nor did I know where he was sitting, so I could not possibly have been looking at him.

"If you saw the tape of me all night, you will see that I looked all over the place."

Ingram continued the attack during an interview on Radio Five Live Breakfast, accusing Celador managing director Paul Smith of "conning the police and the public".

At the end of the documentary, which was supported by advertising for cough medicine Benylin, Mr Smith confirmed that the company was planning to turn the tale of the fraud into a film.

Speculation is now rife about who will play the leading roles in the movie.

Ingram confronted Mr Smith on Radio Five, accusing him of "ruining my life".

He added: "You have conned the police and you are now conning the public. This is absolutely abhorrent - you have no idea what you have done."

The major said he had lost everything since his conviction and was now facing debts of £460,000 because his civil action against Celador was likely to fold.

Mr Smith denied that Celador would make "millions and millions of pounds" from the documentary, but acknowledged that the programme was being sold worldwide.

Two weeks ago, the Ingrams and Whittock were convicted on charges of deception but escaped with fines and suspended prison sentences.

Whittock is planning to appeal, while the Ingrams are awaiting legal advice.

James Goldston, editor of the Tonight documentary, said: "The programme was not unfairly or selectively edited in any way.

"We are sure viewers will have made up their own minds."