Countdown (game show) Stelling was confirmed as the new host, with Oxford graduate Rachel Riley in the Vorderman role. It was announced on 24 May 2011 that Stelling would be leaving the programme, and he presented his final show on 16 December 2011. On 16 November 2011, it was announced that Nick Hewer would be taking over as host, with his first show broadcast on 9 January 2012. "Countdown" quickly established cult status within British television – an image which it maintains today, despite numerous changes of rules and personnel. The programme's audience comprises mainly students, homemakers and pensioners, owing to the "teatime"
Countdown (game show) broadcast slot and inclusive appeal of its format and presentation. "Countdown" has been one of Channel 4's most-watched programmes for over twenty years, but has never won a major television award. When Des Lynam became the new presenter after Whiteley's death in 2005, the show regularly drew an average 1.7 million viewers every day—which was around half a million more than in the last few years of Richard Whiteley presenting—and the Series 54 final, on 26 May 2006, attracted 2.5 million viewers. From 3–4 million viewers had watched the show daily in its previous 16:15 slot. The drop in viewers