The influence of TV Scoop continues to increase. It was only last week I was bemoaning the wandering newscasters and reporters with windmills for arms, and today Mof reports that ITV News are planning to scrap these much-hated gimmicks. And less than ten days ago I suggested we might all be bored with the low-money rounds on Who Wants to be a Millionaire. From my keyboard to the ears of 2waytraffic – the WWTBAM producers – and today comes the news that a revamp of Millionaire is on the cards, the lynchpin of which? You guessed it: doing away with the low money rounds.

This will be the first change in prize levels in the show’s nine-year history and will go live with the August 18 edition. Shying away from increasing the top prizes, the original 15-level ladder (pictured) is to be replaced with just 12 questions starting at £500. Since the first safe level of £1,000 remains unchanged this will almost certainly mean more players leaving with at least that much.

After that, prize money increases to £2,000, £5,000, £10,000, and £20,000 with £50,000 then becoming the second safe level. From there the questions are worth £75,000, £150,000, £250,000, £500,000 and £1 million.

Worries that ITV were about to axe the gameshow in the wake of falling audiences have forced the production company into this move, intended to freshen up the format and get to the big money rounds more quickly. [via DS]