John Richard Whiteley, was a British television presenter and journalist.He was most famous for his 23-year stint as presenter of Countdown, a letters and numbers arrangement game show broadcast daily on Channel 4. An edition of Countdown was the launch programme for Channel 4 at 4:45pm on 2 November 1982, and Whiteley was the first person to be seen on the channel, discounting a programme montage. His trademarks were his jolly, avuncular manner; his fondness for bad puns; and bold wardrobe (particularly jackets and ties). It is also said that he has the second greatest number of hours on televison only being beaten by the girl (Carole Hersee) from the BBC Test Card. Immediately after graduating in 1965, Whiteley joined Independent Television News in London as a graduate trainee. In 1968, he moved to Leeds to become a reporter on Yorkshire Television's early evening news bulletin, Calendar. His colleagues included Jonathan Aitken and Austin Mitchell. In due course, he became the on-screen presenter of the programme, remaining in that position until 1995. He interviewed every British Prime Minister from Harold Macmillan to Tony Blair, and was one of the first journalists at the scene of the 1984 Brighton bombing, having attended the Conservative Party conference and been in Brighton's Grand Hotel at the time of the explosion. He secured the scoop of being the first journalist to interview the Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, after the bombing. In 1982, Yorkshire Television started making Calendar Countdown, copying a popular French quiz show format, Des chiffres et des lettres. Whiteley was chosen as host, and continued with the show when Sir Jeremy Isaacs brought it to Channel 4 as the first programme broadcast by the new station. As the presenter of Countdown, Whiteley developed a reputation for wearing garish suits and ties, and it was common for his co-presenter, Carol Vorderman, to comment on this. Whiteley also told many anecdotes and puns, which were often met by groans from other presenters and members of the audience. He was granted the honorary title of "Mayor of Wetwang" in 1998, and was known for his amusement at the village's name. Countdown was not intended to be a long-lasting format, but it quickly became a flagship programme for Channel 4. At the time of Whiteley's death, it still regularly attracted up to four million viewers. Whiteley died on 26 June 2005 at Leeds General Infirmary shortly after an operation to combat an infection in a heart valve following a serious case of pneumonia. He was 61 years old.