Channel 4's longest-running show returned on Monday, minus host Des O'Connor and veteran number-cruncher Carol Vorderman, but plus Jeff Stelling and Rachel Riley. There was a brand new, curvy, blue-toothpaste set that matched Rachel's slinky dress and Countdown-clock belt, too. Susie Dent was perched in Dictionary Corner as usual -- with the rumpled, grandfatherly Andrew Sachs by her side. "Don't mention the phone call," the ghost of Basil Fawlty hissed from the wings.It all went quite well, really. Sky Sports' Jeff Selling's cartoon teeth and frequent references to football were a bit annoying, but he has a good manner about him. Witty, but I'm not sure his brand of blokey chit-chat will go down well with the more, shall we say, oddball contestants who avoid Sky Sports like the plague.
Rachel didn't fare quite so well (owing to a lack of TV experience, no doubt) but she certainly wasn't disastrous. The numbers games were suspiciously easy for her, so I'm not sure if she has a Vorderman level of grey-matter yet. But I doubt the producers would have given the job to someone who'd be glimpsed counting on her fingers! She just has to learn to turn to the camera and not act like a startled rabbit. But it must be a bit strange, because the geography of the set has the contestants talking from her extreme left. The magic of TV, eh? Remember when you thought University Challenge's teams really were seated vertically?
Both Countdown newcomers are stepping into a British TV institution, where the late Richard Whiteley and Carol Vorderman cast iconic shadows, but I'm sure they'll both relax into their roles. Rachel's appointment is clearly intended to stir things up a little. If Vorderman was a sexy university tutor... well, Rachel's the sexy student you'd chat up in the uni bar. Lovely, she is. Now, let's hope there's a taxing numbers round for her to dazzle us with. You could sense the audience (more whooping than usual -- less OAPs?) wanted Rach to astound them with a particularly knotty solution. She'll hopefully get her chance soon.
Really, the lamest moment of the whole show came from guest Sachs, reciting a comedian's rambling monologue from the 1920s in a thick, fruity, "ac-tor" voice. These "treats" from Dictionary Corner before ad-breaks really can be torturous, but it was funny seeing Stelling force a rictus grin at Sachs' embarrassing, unfunny routine.
What did you think? Is Stelling the man to breathe fresh life into Countdown? Would you like to "consonant, vowel, consonant, consonant" Rachel?* Have you ever cracked a conundrum?
Monday-Friday
Channel 4, 3.35pm
* K - I - S - S (obviously)
