The programme was presented by Richard Whiteley for 23 years until his death in June 2005. Following the development of MediaCityUK, Countdown moved again in 2013 to the new purpose-built studios at Dock10 in Greater Manchester. Countdown was produced by Yorkshire Television and was recorded at The Leeds Studios for 27 years, before moving to the Manchester-based Granada Studios in 2009. With over 8,000 episodes, Countdown is one of Britain's longest-running game shows the original French version, Des chiffres et des lettres (Numbers & Letters), has been running on French television continuously since 1965. It was the first programme to be broadcast on Channel 4 and 88 series have been broadcast since its debut on 2 November 1982. It is broadcast on Channel 4 and is currently presented by Colin Murray, assisted by Rachel Riley with lexicographer Susie Dent. Countdown is a British game show involving word and mathematical tasks that began airing in November 1982.
