Channel 4 'plans Vorderman send-off'

Channel 4 is understood to be planning a special episode of Countdown to bid current hosts Des O'Connor and Carol Vorderman goodbye.

According to The Guardian, Channel 4 head of daytime Helen Warner is considering putting on air an extended edition of the long-running game show in December to celebrate Vorderman's 26 year association with the programme. She will return to the studios of ITV Yorkshire in the Autumn to film her final episodes with O'Connor.

A spokesperson for the channel told the paper: "We are currently thinking of ways of marking Des and Carol's final show."

Vorderman's departure from the quiz was confirmed in July; despite an initial statement that she harboured fears over bonding with a new co-host after the departure of Des O'Connor, it later emerged that she had been asked to take a 90% pay cut, a move she described as being "pushed into leaving something I love".