Himoff!: The Memoirs of a TV Matinee Idle - Tapa blanda

Richard Whiteley was the first person to appear on Channel 4 on Tuesday 2nd November 1982. With the words 'As the countdown to the launch of a new channel ends, a new Countdown begins'. Nobody was to know, of course, that the new face on the channel was still to be there for over 20 years, and that Countdown would be dominating the channels Top Ten ratings. Richard Whiteley was known for his jackets and his puns - opinion is divided as to which was worse. However he was regarded as a cult figure among a broad section of the population. He appeared in such shows as Hale and Pace, TFI Friday, Shooting Stars, Light Lunch, Mrs Merton, Fantasy Football, received a 'Gotcha' from Noel Edmonds and was regularly on the receiving end of Terry Wogan's gentle mockery. He appeared on McCoist and MacAuley and 'The Greatest Rory Ever Told', as himself and as Carol Vorderman. He was the hit of the Edinburgh Fringe in 1999 with his one man show...

Born and bred in Yorkshire, Richard Whiteley was obsessed with TV from the moment he saw a BBC outside broadcast van. Richard was the first person to appear on Channel 4 on Tuesday 2nd November 1982, with the words "As the countdown to the launch of a new channel ends, a new Countdown begins". No one could have predicted that Countdown would dominate the channel's top ten ratings for over 20 years. Richard made a record 10,000 or more appearances on British television. He died in 2005.