Who can replace Richard Whiteley?

[Jelibeli]

According to the Daily Mirror this week (so it must be true ;) ), Paul Merton and Des Lynam are being lined up to replace the late, great Richard Whitley (bless him) on Countdown.

As a reminder, Des Lynam is the smoooooooooooooth sports presenter with the facial hair, ever popular with the laydeeez (aged about 90 and over), while Paul Merton is the team captain and occaisional host of Have I Got News For You, with the 3-day-old razor sharp wit, who used to be married to the fat bird from Jonathan Creek and Men Behaving Badly.

Now, do you think either of these people could fill Richard's suits and ties? Vote away, and if you don't think either of them is suitable, suggest somebody else...

[La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo]

Very hard choice! I still cant belive Richard Whitely died :( I used to watch countdown everytime i went to my grans. I voted Des just because he hosted Have I got news for you, once in a special celebrity host version, it was class.

[Playbus]

No one can or should replace him. As great a show as Countdown is, I believe it should end now.

[Mittwoch]

Richard Whitely could NEVER be replaced. I think it's best to leave Countdown resting in peace along with him. If one of your family members died, would you replace them with someone else? No. Just let it be.

[Liz]

i completely agree. countdown isnt countdown without richard. if it trys, it will only fail.

[Horse]

But I'm sure Richard would see it as a great legacy to his sucess if countdown DID keep running, otherwise in a few years his memory will just fade in time.

Countdown should still run, with who at the helm I don't know. To be honest I believe it would be a job best offered to one of the regular panelists.

[Cjw]

I'm gonna have to go with the masses and say that i think they should let it rest. Let it be remembered properly instead of a show that they desperatly tried to scrape from the ashes.

[Paradigm^]

I think the logical replacement would be Carol Vorderman. But it'd have to be a clone of her, because it wouldn't even be possible for the Universe to remain stable if she stepped away from the board.

[Horse]

desperatly tried to scrape from the ashes.

Surely it's more popular than that? Alright it's niche and regular watchers were very close to the presenter, but if people enjoy playing the game, why shouldn't it continue.

Basically if Channel 4 doesn't put it back on the air expect Channel 5 to be introducing a quiz show called '30 seconds' in the near future with Phil Schofield at the helm.

Now that would be a travesty.

[Cjw]

I wasn't arguing that it wasn't popular...i'd just rather it was laid to rest instead of extended whilst the presenter who replaced him would most likely have the albatross around his neck of being the guy who replaced Richard Whiteley.

[MichaelJackson]

Why don't t C4 just get rid of Countdown. It's crap.

(this my first post on my PSP)

[Tiggs]

I think it would be a shame not to keep the show going. It was a great show, and although it won't be the same without Richard, thay could keep it going with a new presenter that the public could grow equally attached to.

I say Des should take over, as I just can't see Paul Merton fitting in with that show, and if he did present it, the feel of the show would probably change and it would go down hill. Des on the other hand would be able to slot in and keel it going as close to what it was as possible.

Pesionally I think it would be a shame to let that show go.

[kranky]

Yeah I dont think they should replace him

Are Paul and Des the official 2 front runners or something?

[Chassisbot]

Merty.

[Thomp]

Neither, Richard Whiteley is a one in a million, and can never be replaced on Tv or any other format of broadcasting

And MichaelJackson, FOAD will you

[firetrap]

Personally I just think it's rude, ignorant and completely heartless of the Daily Mirror to even question who should be "replacing" him. It's almost as if they're treating him like a toy or something. Oh, woopsee! Just throw him in the bin, we'll buy you a new one tomorrow!

I agree with Philbob that the show should continue. I've had many an hour of fun sitting at the TV working out the conundrum or maths problem, however badly I did at it. No, don't restart it just yet. Let people cope with him being gone first. Mind you, knowing C4 they'll probably release some spin-off or some other crap to keep ratings up. It's a sad world we live in, people. :(

[carpefula]

Paul Merton a) is a fan of carol and b) is the king of dryness

[Preasure]

Carol replacing Richard wouldnt be right. C4 needs to find somebody as close to richards image as possible, but without being a clone or upstaging his memory.

[UMIST_For_Ever]

Didn't Carol vow never to do it without him?

(spot the innuendo!)

[Mezmerize]

Ummmm No-one

No-one could ever say lame-ass-none-funny jokes and make them funny like he does...did :(


I enjoyed countdown and would be very annoyed if they brought someone else on

[sack the chimp]

Johnny Vegas.

More pissed than usual.

It would be so funny!

[Jelibeli]

Are Paul and Des the official 2 front runners or something?

According to that well known publisher of true, unaltered and certainly not in any way made up stories "The Mirror" *cough* fake prisoner abuse photos *cough* they are.

[Flack]

I don't think either of them would be good, cause des would turn it into a sports show, and paul would try to make it funny...

Im not saying I dont like either of them, paul merton's ace... but yeah... countdown was one of a kind...

[MichaelJackson]

I got a lot of bad rep for my last post in this thread so I'll go into more detail.

Countdown is crap because of the lack of entertainment. I brought my TV and expected to be entertained. If I wanted to waste 30 minutes learning about spelling I would pick up a dictionary. Sure you can play along at home but I don't classify being embarrassed when an old man on TV does better than you as fun. By the way I know should improve my spelling but I won't do it by watching Countdown.

As for the PSP remark, I meant my spelling and timing would be bad which it was. This post was written on my PC which is why I have gone into more detail.

If Countdown stays on the air I think a completely unheard of person should present, allowing them to create there own style which would be remembered.