Countdown : Jeff and Rachel take over

Whatever the outcome re: presenters, I think the show overall needs a new look and now, with the departures of both Des and Carol, seems to be the right time. Graphics as well as the set design need updating somewhat IMHO.

I really don't think Rory Bremner is the right choice to host the show though.. perhaps Aspel... then again, maybe not.

There was a time when Carol became the Myleene Klass of the late 90s. i.e. she was on pretty much everything especially when she became ITV's version of Carol Smilie.

To be honest, with computer's nowadays, they may just have one presenter. Whatever the outcome, the format's got to change slightly, surely?

Well to be fair, they had no choice but to replace Richard Whiteley-- for obvious reasons.

The only other celeb mathematician I can think of is Johnny Ball. He has a certain quirkiness to him that could suit the programme...

The X-factor idea isn't as daft as it sounds: Carol was an unknown, she applied for a newspaper advert (or rather her mother did on her behalf)-- and the rest is history. Maybe on that basis Duncan Wood might be the new host

The Daily Express thinks that Michael Aspel is favourite to succeed Des. I can see him doing it; he has the right style and is intelligent, but would he be there for the long run? He didn't stick around long for the Antiques Roadshow after all.

Clive Anderson is the second favourite, he certainly has the humour and the brains to match Carol. Others names in the frame have been Noel Edmonds and Paul O'Grady-- but I'd imagine they are busy with their own C4 shows.

Of course a certain Countdown warm-up man of many years would be an ideal choice

Seriously, it would be shame to see Countdown come to an end-- one of the decreasingly few intelligent shows on telly these days I feel.

dosen't countdown occupy the main studio at The Leeds Studios?

I've got a feeling Countdown might go downhill now. I mean okay, it survived well when Richard was replaced, but I think losing Carol as well may cause harm to the show's popularity. It's like replacing Patrick Moore on The Sky at Night...

Michael did the Roadshow for 7 years didn't he? That's hardly not sticking around for long - he's not getting any younger...

Well... that's a bombshell.

It's going to be very difficult to replace Carol. I don't think replacing her with a computer would be a good option - it would make things quite lifeless. Susie Dent doing both numbers, letters and Dictionary Corner might not be a bad thing, but ideally there should be a different person in each role.

With regards to reasonably intelligent celebrities who might be able to host it, Myleene Klass might do well as the letters/numbers bod, as she's an intelligent and multi-talented presenter who I think would have respect for how the show works and its background and culture. As for Des's replacement, I've so far thought of three candidates:

• Clive Anderson - good presenting skills. Sufficiently bald to be accepted without question
  
• Simon Mayo - a bit of an offbeat suggestion, but he has a good speaking voice and is quite good as a TV presenter.
  
• Stephen Fry - very popular. A fan of Countdown himself. Is Google on legs, so would be perfectly suited to the job.

These are only my own suggestions. I had thought of putting Alison Herd back in Dictionary Corner and putting Susie in the presenter's chair, but with (what would most likely be) three females, it could turn out feeling a bit like Loose Women (but without Joan Rivers accidentally saying 'f*ck').

It might be a good opportunity to give the show a visual refresh - obviously the basic set design would have to stay (there'd be complaints if it didn't) but perhaps they could try something a little different this time. Perhaps a warm red/orange/brown look might work well. The theme tune could also do with being re-recorded: not like this, but perhaps it could be made a little more pacey, and perhaps jazzed up a little with an (?electric) guitar and piano.

I strongly suspect Carol will come crawling back, alas.

thats it now finish the show they can't go on now, in all honesty they should have not carried on after Richard died.

I second that. It was the end of an era when Richard went and it has shown in his replacements (obviously by no fault of their own).

If the show does continue.. my choices would be:

Michael Parkinson - former chatshow host, has done daytime gameshow presenting with Give Us A Clue, Going For A Song etc

Barry Cryer - one of the best comedy scriptwriters in the business and has guested on DC several times.

Stephen Fry - very knowledgeable and witty and has imitated Whiteley in a infamous Fry and Laurie sketch.

Tom O'Connor - Another quizshow stalwart with witty puns.

Jimmy Tarbuck - Another Northern comic with quizshow history.

As for Carol's role... No idea, but perhaps she may be persuaded to stay.

It will be odd with Carol, but it survived the loss of Richard and he was a much bigger part of the show, they should at least try to keep it going, if only to keep the Leeds studio's in action.

Presuming it does carry on, I can this being the catalyst to have it moved from Leeds.

It's been rumoured previously and Carol seemed like the last remaining link to Richard W and it's Yorkshire roots.

Finding two northern based presenters, or southerners prepared to commute is going to be a hard sell.