NG
Why? The same chosen few are given presenting jobs all the time. It's not some special skill that only they were born with - it can be learned, and any good actor can learn to cheerfully read a teleprompter.
Err - what has reading prompt got to do with presenting a "Countdown"-style show?
There may be, for some sequences, a rough guide script to introduce the guuest, and for question-based shows the questions may well be on prompt (though often they are on cards or screens). However for a show like Countdown, the presenting skills aren't based on being able to read prompt, they're about interacting with the other presenters and guests, knowing the format inside out - so you can "run" the show, and enjoying it.
It's surprising how many actors are not able to "play themselves" when they try presenting. Some will create a false persona - but that often falls to bits when they are having to deviate from a script - though not with all actors of course. Actors often make terrible interviewees for similar reasons.
And annoying as it may seem, many of the best presenters are naturals. There is such a thing as natural presenting talent. It's usually a mix of confidence, emotional intelligence and the ability to "connect" through the camera rather than appearing to look at it. That doesn't mean that actors, doctors, shop assistants etc. don't also posess these skills - they may well have them and be undiscovered. However there are lots of people who think they can be presenters, who with all the training in the world, will never be that good. (Some of them still manage to make it onto the screens though...)
noggin
Founding member
Or an actor. Surely an unknown presenter would be better?
Why? The same chosen few are given presenting jobs all the time. It's not some special skill that only they were born with - it can be learned, and any good actor can learn to cheerfully read a teleprompter.
Err - what has reading prompt got to do with presenting a "Countdown"-style show?
There may be, for some sequences, a rough guide script to introduce the guuest, and for question-based shows the questions may well be on prompt (though often they are on cards or screens). However for a show like Countdown, the presenting skills aren't based on being able to read prompt, they're about interacting with the other presenters and guests, knowing the format inside out - so you can "run" the show, and enjoying it.
It's surprising how many actors are not able to "play themselves" when they try presenting. Some will create a false persona - but that often falls to bits when they are having to deviate from a script - though not with all actors of course. Actors often make terrible interviewees for similar reasons.
And annoying as it may seem, many of the best presenters are naturals. There is such a thing as natural presenting talent. It's usually a mix of confidence, emotional intelligence and the ability to "connect" through the camera rather than appearing to look at it. That doesn't mean that actors, doctors, shop assistants etc. don't also posess these skills - they may well have them and be undiscovered. However there are lots of people who think they can be presenters, who with all the training in the world, will never be that good. (Some of them still manage to make it onto the screens though...)