Carol Vorderman quits Countdown after 90% pay cut
Tuesday, July 29th, 2008The Final Countdown
The presenter Carol Vorderman has announced that she will be leaving Countdown after being told to accept a 90% pay-cut or quit, her agent claimed last night.
The first woman to appear on Channel 4, Vorderman joined the quiz programme 26 years ago as a fresh-faced maths graduate and has charmed millions of viewers ever since with her gentle banter with presenter Richard Whiteley and her head for figures. The two presenters turned the low-key tea-time show into a national institution. Even the Queen is said to be a fan.
According to Vorderman’s agent, John Miles, the presenter told Channel 4 she was happy to receive a 33% pay cut in line with a reduction in the show’s budget. Vorderman, who had previously earned an estimated £1 million for 225 episodes a year, was offered less than £100,000 and given 48 hours to decide. “It was a non-negotiable take-it-or-leave-it offer. I was stunned,” said Miles.
What is more, one executive reputedly told her the show had survived Richard Whiteley’s death in 2005 and “could easily survive without you.”
Vorderman had initially claimed on Friday that she was stepping down because she did not want to go through the stress of bonding with another new presenter, after Des O’Connor announced that he would be resigning from the show at the end of the series. However, she said that she wanted viewers to know the “truth” about leaving the show.
“I am devastated that my joyous time with one of the best programmes on television has ended this way,” she said. “I was happy to continue doing the numbers and letters for years to come. I wish all of my friends and colleagues every success in the future.”
August 1st, 2008 at 1:06 pm
Is this over yet? Are they just going to let it blow over and then start it all again when her replacement is announced? I guess we’ll just have to see.