Countdown Star Dies
 

http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0...187001,00.html

Re: Countdown Star Dies
 

Speechless. Truly a national treasure. :(

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Oh no and he was such a lovely fella i use to serve him his fish and chips years ago! :(

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that really is a shame :(

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Will they cancel the show?
I believe that he brought the show from France.
Who else could front it, Carol?

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This is sad sad news, a national institution...

Long may countdown live, im sure he would have wanted it to

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OMFG! That's terrible :mis:

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Awww that's really bad news, what a great man :(

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Unbeleiveable, the last news I saw was that he was on the mend but would be a long convalescence.

Countdown is a TV institution, but will never be the same without him.

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He was a good man .He will be missed and remembered:shocked:

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That is such a shame. He was a lovely bloke. He used to get so much stick from people, but he always used to love it.

What a loss... :(

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Sad news :(

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a big shock. you will be missed. a wonderfully humble kind man

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To me, he came across as a bit of a bumbling twit, but a very amiable one at that. A lovely man. It'll be very hard for anyone to fill his role in Countdown. Rest in Peace Richard.

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very very very sad news and still so young

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Damn, that's a shame :(

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What a sad loss. :( I used to watch Countdown on occasions. R.I.P Richard Whitley.

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I think Carol Vorderman should take it over. She's been there so long, I feel she'd be the best person to fill that position.

Whiteley was brilliant, I didn't even know he was ill. How awful that he's died.

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Damn !!! Thats really sad. He died so young.
I only watched Count down two days ago and he really did have something special. He will be missed.

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He was a marvel in his field, RIP.

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What really sad news, I used to watch it and I thought the guy was a hoot, I knew he was sick but not that sick, R.I.P Richard Whitely, we will miss you, god bless and have sweet dreams.

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Anyone else noticed that the current C4 advert with the stars and the question is "What would you like to be remembered for?"
Richard Whitley was one of the respondees and said
"For being the first person on Channel 4"

He never missed a days work, was one of the first on the scene at the Brighton Bombing of the Con. Party conference (and was a serious journo before being the Countdown presenter)

Esther was being lined up to present it while he was off sick. They still have 5 episodes of his to show.

and finally...

At the end of his funeral when the curtain closes or the coffin is put in the ground will there be a final

da-da da-da da da da da Bing.

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2 constanants and a Vowel.

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I remmember him being interviewed and he was talking about his changing room next to carol vorderman. There was a hole in the wall and he thought about this for a while and then decided "heck Ill just let her look" :)

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I only found out about this today, and was truly saddened. :( R.I.P Richard, you will be sorely missed. Countdown won't be the same without you, but I hope they don't cancel it.

Oh, and as david.ewles says, this show originated in France. I dunno if anyone has seen the original version, but it's very boring and not at all funny. It's probably what Countdown would have been like if Twice Nightly hadn't been chosen to present it. He should be proud of his achievements.

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Channel 4 have said they will show the first two quarter finals this afternoon and Wednesday, the semi-finals will be shown as a double-header on Thursday and the final will be on Friday followed by a tribute programme (the final was his last recording)
i must admit it'll be weird watching him tomorrow but i'm glad Channel 4 have got the permission of the family to show his last few episodes.
I shall be watching for Richard and his memory

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Don't know if they showed it, or a tribute today, the video timer screwed up!

Not sure that I could see Esther as a long term replacement... some of the former dictionary corner guests come to mind.

Mind you, would Carol want to carry on with another presenter?

I don't think you could have Carol presenting it all, well not unleess they brought back the "letters girl" that they had in earlier series - Then Carol only did the number wrangling!

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I think it will be hard to make it what it was with Richard.
Carol and Richard Whitely were a team, and like Ant and Dec, you associated one with the other.
He was a great presenter and commited to his work. It won't be the same without him on the show.

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A sad loss..

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Countdown is now on Channel 4 with the late richard now

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I think it would be the ultimate tribute if they stopped the show now. He was so intertwined with it that although they could carry on and find a reasonable replacement it would never be the same. He was one of those few people who are irreplaceable.

He died of what seems to be an infection of one of his heart valves following endocarditis. Whether this was as a result of the pneumonia or underlying is unknown. If it was the Aortic valve then this is one of the trickiest operation that a cardiac surgeon performs and carries a high mortality. Conjecture though...