A few days after doctors gave Andrew Skarbek the all-clear from his six-month battle with cancer, he was accepted as a contestant on Channel Seven's Million Dollar Minute.

On Friday night, the 47-year-old made history by winning the biggest cash prize ever awarded on Australian television: $1,016,000.

He credits three things for his vast general knowledge that has made him newly rich: inheriting his late father's inquisitiveness, being a long-time Age reader, and a monument covered in bird poo.

Skarbek's final question was: "The Burke and Wills expedition left Melbourne in which year?"

"Picture the old City Square, in front of the Westin Hotel; the statue of Burke and Wills," he says. "I've walked past it a million times. And I remembered it says, '1860 to 1861', which was their journey before they carked it."

Despite his sudden wealth, Skarbek has no plans to splurge on boats, jet-skis and other shiny trinkets. The first thing he'll buy is a return business class ticket to Poland for his 78-year-old mother. It's been 15 years since she has visited the country of her birth. The only thing that's stopped her returning recently is the hellish 30-hour ride in economy.

Skarbek and his wife Jenny will also buy their first home, then travel around Europe.

"Dad was a doctor but he was only a GP," he says. "That meant we were comfortable but not 'specialist rich'. Instead of buying nice things around the house, we travelled. By the time I was 11, I'd been to every continent except Antarctica. It was such an eye-opener as a kid."

He's well aware, he says, that acquiring luxury brands offers only a fleeting satisfaction.

"I read an article in The Age about how experiences are the new objects, and I'm all for that. You could get a Rolex or a new handbag, but you'll be happier spending that money on dinner with friends in a nice restaurant."

Having studied journalism in the late 1980s, Skarbek's plan was to become a reporter.

"But there was no work back then," he explains. "That's when all the consolidation was going on. Bondy and Skasey [Alan Bond and Christopher Skase] were buying everything and [Rupert] Murdoch was moving in. It was a mess."

Still, his training held him in good stead for a career as business analyst (though he'll probably retire now). It also means he's a stickler for accuracy. He's keen to ensure, for instance, that his recent experience with cancer is not overblown.

"It was a thing called MALT lymphoma. The doctors said if you have to have it, this is the one you want, because it doesn't spread throughout your lymph glands.

"I had protein [intravenous] drips, twice a week, and what I learnt from that was patience and fortitude. Just keep showing up and you'll get through it. I think that directly applied to the show."

Over 23 gruelling episodes, Skarbek saw off 46 contestants. He was close to "burnt out" by the end.

"When the big yellow tick came up [showing I'd won], it was relief more than anything. It was such a long journey – more Million Dollar Month than Million Dollar Minute."

Last year, single mother Lisa Paton went for the million-dollar jackpot but stumbled, walking away with a "safety net" jackpot of $75,000 plus another $2000. Since then, a new safety jackpot of $300,000 was introduced to discourage nervous contestants quitting around the half-way mark.

Still, most assume their questions become harder at every level, prompting steadily rising levels of anxiety. Skarbek took a different view.

"I was really surprised at how hard the questions got from the $500,000 level onwards," he says.

"They were really, really, really tough. So I made I calculated decision that they couldn't get any harder. And that made me think, 'I can do this'. That was my lightbulb moment."

His extraordinary success has put a rocket under the show's ratings. Its metropolitan viewership has grown by more than one third since he first appeared on February 25. Its national audience, including regional areas, has soared above one million most nights this week.

Other programs to give away large cash sums include Nine's Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? (two $1 million jackpots); Ten's Big Brother (one $1 million jackpot) and Seven's The Big Adventure (one $1 million jackpot).

mlallo@fairfaxmedia.com.au