A blonde, curly-haired surfer from Thirroul has just won big on television's Millionaire Hot Seat, but it took far more than 30 minutes of questions to be promised $50,000.

Jackson Russell appeared on the popular Channel 9 show with host Eddie McGuire on Monday afternoon, and won thousands after correctly naming the song which began with lyrics "LA proved too much for the man".

He locked in, Midnight Train to Georgia by Gladys Knight and the Pips.

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"When you're in there you're kind of second guessing, but a midnight train talks about leaving so it sort of fit," he told the Mercury.

But the 34-year-old is yet to receive the wads of cash, with his contract stating winners would receive their earnings 28 days from the time their episode aired.

And if it didn't air, then no cash.

He's not entirely sure why an episode would not air, but was on the understanding it could just be a "scheduling thing" - so very unlucky if you were handed a cheque from Eddie, only for it to never see the light of day.

Filling the "hot seat" of the trivia quiz show has been a long time coming for Russell who originally applied online for a spot three or four years ago.

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He wanted to give it a shot because he regarded himself a bit of a trivia buff and thought he may do alright.

The next step was receiving a call to attend a testing day held at Sydney University, where up to 80 people took a multiple choice exam.

They were then split up into groups for interviews with producers and their photos taken.

Russell was finally called in 2021 to request his presence at Channel 9 studios in Melbourne, but the pandemic rescheduled that appearance four times before finally getting a plane ticket at the end of February 2022.

"I kind of forgot about it, because it'd been a year and a half ... and then got a call from a random Melbourne number," he said.

Russell was flown to Victoria on a Sunday ready to be part of three episodes being taped on the Monday morning (either watching or as the key player), before being sent home in the afternoon.

He didn't get to mingle too much with other contestants, so couldn't tell if everyone was incredibly intelligent.

"You need questions to relate to your life I think, that's the only way to work out," he said.

One contestant he saw who also won $50,000 was a "stand in" for someone who didn't turn up.

When the cheque does clear, Russell intends to buy himself a new pair of runners (trashed from all the rain we've had) and go on an extended overseas holiday to Europe, Spain, Portugal and the UK.

"I have no [partner] to share it with, so it's a bit exciting to be selfish."

Q A type of high quality yarn is what "wool"?

A Worsted

Q "Weeping Woman" is a famous series of paintings by which artist?

A Pablo Picasso

Q The word "jeans" is believed to have derived from a city in which country?

A Italy

Q Which song opens with the lyrics "LA proved too much for the man".

A Midnight Train to Georgia by Gladys Knight and the Pips.

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