Armstrong pulls out of 'Countdown' job?

Alexander Armstrong has pulled out of a deal to host Countdown, reports The Mirror.

The 38-year-old apparently verbally accepted the Channel 4 job earlier this month.

Bosses will be left in the lurch when current host Des O’Connor leaves the show in December along with Carol Vorderman.

"It is a race against time to get someone because the series begins filming in January. We were desperate for Alexander to do it," a source told the paper.