[Arneldo]

Richard Whiteley, the presenter of Channel 4 quiz show Countdown since its inception, has died at the age of 61.

In May, Yorkshire Television - which produces Countdown for Channel 4 - confirmed that Whiteley had been hospitalised after being taken ill with pneumonia. Earlier this month, it was announced that guest presenters would fill in for Whiteley, with the star said to have been making a slow recovery.

Although he is most widely known for his Countdown work, Whiteley joined Yorkshire Television back in 1965, eventually becoming a reporter and later presenter of Yorkshire's regional news programme Calendar. For a brief period, he hosted both Calendar and Countdown; the quiz show started on Yorkshire and subsequently moved to Channel 4 as the station's launch show.

In November 2004, Whiteley was awarded the Order of the British Empire.