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) who would like to become a game show hostess. Unlike almost any other game show hostess of the time, however, the advertisement also made it clear that the applicants' appearance would be less important than their talent as a mathematician. Gradually the tasks performed by the extra presenters were taken over by Carol Vorderman, whose role within the show essentially became that of co-presenter. Whiteley fell ill with septicaemia in 2005, and as a result he was no longer able to record "Countdown". Although Whiteley made a slow recovery from his illness, he died on 26 June 2005, after a