Letter: June 26, 2005
To: Dick, wherever you are. We shall miss you.
With Additional Updates – Saturday, July 02, 2005 @ 16:00:00 PM
He was a TV matinee idle (his words), but in the 23 years he presented Countdown on Channel 4, he was always full of his usual wit and sometimes painful puns. Just over six years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Richard Whiteley on episodes 2,454 and 2,455 of Countdown, when I made my TV debut, and two years later at a book signing in Borders in Oxford.
He was a loveable character, always self-deprecating, noted for his loud jackets and ties, but most of all for his puns. I shan’t forget the introduction he gave me on Countdown, nor will I forget the put-downs when I came up with a winning three-letter word, "RUN". He came up with several five letter words. True, he may not have appeared to have been the cleverest mastermind on screen, but he was certainly smart underneath the visible persona.
When I met him two years later in Borders in Oxford, he had just written a book, Himoff! Memoirs of a TV Matinee Idle. In my copy, he once again played a pun, writing on the inside,
"To Lester – Hope you had a good run on Countdown. Richard Whiteley"
Countdown will never be the same without Richard and Carol presenting the show as a team. From the first moment that Channel 4 came on air, Richard and Countdown has been a favourite of many, and for me, being on Countdown was as much about meeting Richard and Carol, as much as playing the game well. We shall miss you, maestro.
Lest, Richard Whiteley, Carol Vorderman
and my opponent, Jane Parslow (Jan 1999)
Links:
Countdown on Channel 4
The Countdown page
360 Online: A Countdown Experience – Lest on Countdown | Photos