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.
it wont be the same with two of the original presenters gone, really I think this should be it, it had a great run, but the countdown to its axing has started.
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.
Friday's Daily Mirror had Carol Voderman as favourite to take over - so I wouldnt read too much into that!!
It would, IMHO, be suicidal for Channel 4 to axe
Countdown
.
The programme still has a strong following, and even if the transition is botched, there'll still be a large amount of viewers tuning in. If they
were
to drop it, it would only be a matter of time before the BBC, ITV or Channel 5 picked it up and scheduled it against
Golden Blockbusters to 15 to 12 to 3 to 1 to Come Win My No Deal
, or whatever they happen to have in the slot that week. That'd badly affect ratings for both programmes, and the slot would become something of a graveyard (again).
In short, if they drop
Countdown
, another channel will pick up the
Des Lettres et des Chiffres/Countdown
format and schedule it against
Deal or No Deal
, which woud be a disaster for the latter at least, if not both programmes.
I think in all honesty Countdown has run it's course and now it should be gracefully retired and remembered as a popular show, rather than be relocated down south, run into the ground and eventually dropped for poor ratings.
Undoubtedly if it wasn't for Richard Whiteley's sudden death then it would continue to be viable for many years to come but ultimately I think he was irreplaceable both in his longevity and also his attitude as a stalwart YTV man who would have moved heaven and earth to stop Countdown becoming yet another ITV-derived production moved to London.
Whilst I'm sure Mr Whiteley would have wanted Countdown to continue, I'm equally sure that he wouldn't want it to become some vehicle for ageing celebrities, struggling to find a place in 21st century broadcasting amongst all the 20-somethings, to exploit for a couple of years until they get bored with it. I'm also sure that he wouldn't have wanted a permanent presenter to come at the cost of one of the last bastions of Yorkshire Television being relocated and it's history as a Leeds-based programme being erased.
Richard Whiteley remarked only a couple of years before his death that 'I'm not a natural quiz host. If I had to apply for my job today, I wouldn't get it' - sadly both points are probably true, but are also the reason why Countdown has remained so popular for so long. I personally am not interested in watching a past-his/her prime presenter fronting the programme with a ditzy idiot taking on Carol Vorderman's job (doubtless with a 'refreshed' format in which the intelligence required to do Carol's job as exists now is removed).
Sadly, Countdown was very much a product of the old ITV system's infrastructure. And now that it's been destroyed in the search for short term gains, ITV's infrastructure can't support it any more - they will never risk putting anyone relatively unknown onto the programme, and no one who is known is interested in a long term commitment to it.
There's probably more mileage in C4 embarking on a repeat run (I don't think thats ever been done to any significant scale) rather than struggling to keep it afloat with now both of it's original presenters gone.
This may sound like a very daft idea but I think Greggles would be a natural for the show. He knows the show, he knows the audience, plus isn't he around the same age as what Richard W was when he first presented it in the Yorkshire region (Calender Countdown)!
I could go with that idea as he is not an old has-been presenting the show.
With regards to a replacement for Carol, I'm sure there are many "regional" presenters that could easily fill the job such as Granada/Yorkshire/Tyne Tees Weather presenter Jo Blythe who has a decent University degree and is quite intelligent!
This may sound like a very daft idea but I think Greggles would be a natural for the show. He knows the show, he knows the audience, plus isn't he around the same age as what Richard W was when he first presented it in the Yorkshire region (Calender Countdown)!
I could go with that idea as he is not an old has-been presenting the show.
With regards to a replacement for Carol, I'm sure there are many "regional" presenters that could easily fill the job such as Granada/Yorkshire/Tyne Tees Weather presenter Jo Blythe who has a decent University degree and is quite intelligent!
Yeah, and then afterwards we can get Daffy Duck in the Dictionary Corner. This is Countdown, not cheap, late night TV.
This may sound like a very daft idea but I think Greggles would be a natural for the show. He knows the show, he knows the audience, plus isn't he around the same age as what Richard W was when he first presented it in the Yorkshire region (Calender Countdown)!
I could go with that idea as he is not an old has-been presenting the show.
With regards to a replacement for Carol, I'm sure there are many "regional" presenters that could easily fill the job such as Granada/Yorkshire/Tyne Tees Weather presenter Jo Blythe who has a decent University degree and is quite intelligent!
Yeah, and then afterwards we can get Daffy Duck in the Dictionary Corner. This is Countdown, not cheap, late night TV.
so let me get this right with regards to your comment - you are a flippant person who does not actually think about other people's suggestions and that because Greggles is mentioned it HAS to be wrong?
Firstly Greggles for many years was the warm up man on the show - how many other presenters of other shows have advanced from warm-up man to actually presenting the actual shows!
Greggles was also a damn good friend and very akin to Richard W. Their humour is very simialr, their style is exactly the same and most importantly he is as eccentric as what Richard was.
Therefore he knows the show, he knows the regular audience members, he knows the crew and most importantly he knows how to get the corret pitch of the show unlike others mentioned.
With regards to Jo Blythe - she has done presenting work for quite a number of regional programmes in each of the old Yorkshire/, Tyne Tees, Border and Granada regions and she is a fine presenter with brains and not bad looking either - ticks all the criteria.
I presume you would go for faces that are already on TV and as such would cost a hell of a lot to bring on board - or use old has been -list presenters.
Any, if anything, how close do these presenters actually live to the Leeds studios, compared to others mentioned and compared to the 2 Des' and carol. Cost effective
If anything shrewdness is called for if the show is to survive the fallout of these resignations and just naming people already on T could be completely wrong for the programme.
Do not forget that this is not chea late night television but is actually cheap daytime television.
How about Stephen Fry as the new presenter? I know he does QI but I think he'd work well on this, anyone agree?
I think the main problem of the programme at the moment is the choosing of Southern based presenters. Hence they quit within a short period of time. There are 2 solutions for this:-
1. Move the filming down south - a huge cry from OFcom etc but the viewers wouldn't really notice a difference ; or
2. Use northern presenters
Names can be banded around, and after many thoughts, I believe that Greggles could actually be good, but it will eventually all come down to cost - if its cheaper to film in London then that's where it will go, or cheaper to use Northern relatively unknown presenters they will follow that route.
Remember it is an ITV programme, although made for Channel 4, and costs mean everything to them - no matter what!
How about Stephen Fry as the new presenter? I know he does QI but I think he'd work well on this, anyone agree?
I think the main problem of the programme at the moment is the choosing of Southern based presenters. Hence they quit within a short period of time. There are 2 solutions for this:-
1. Move the filming down south - a huge cry from OFcom etc but the viewers wouldn't really notice a difference ; or
2. Use northern presenters
Names can be banded around, and after many thoughts, I believe that Greggles could actually be good, but it will eventually all come down to cost - if its cheaper to film in London then that's where it will go, or cheaper to use Northern relatively unknown presenters they will follow that route.
Remember it is an ITV programme, although made for Channel 4, and costs mean everything to them - no matter what!
True I suppose, I don't think Stephen would want to leave London. However if they did move it down to the LWT studios he could be a possibility
