Countdown (game show) television continuously since 1965. "Countdown" was initially recorded at The Leeds Studios for 27 years, before moving to Manchester-based Granada Studios in 2009. Following the development of MediaCityUK, Countdown moved again in 2013 to the new purpose build studios at Dock10, Greater Manchester. The programme was presented by Richard Whiteley for over 20 years, until his sudden death in June 2005. It was then presented by Des Lynam until the end of 2006, Des O'Connor until the end of 2008, and Jeff Stelling until the end of 2011; Nick Hewer has presented the show since 2012. Carol Vorderman, the show's
Countdown with Keith Olbermann program featured live updates on the then-unfolding War in Iraq. "Countdown" was broadcast at 8:00 p.m. on weekday nights, having replaced a cancelled talk show hosted by Phil Donahue. Olbermann—who left MSNBC in the late 1990s—returned to the network around this time and replaced Holt, becoming the permanent host for the renamed "Countdown with Keith Olbermann". The show did not feature political commentary in its first few years, simply recapping the news of the day in a "5-4-3-2-1" format as the title suggested. "Countdown" began to attract liberal and progressive viewers in 2005, when Olbermann began critiquing and satirizing conservative