TV
'Countdown' fans fight to stop move south
Published Friday, Sep 29 2006, 17:12 BST | By Joanne Oatts
Fans of Channel 4's Countdown have set up an online petition in an attempt to stop the production of the show moving from YTV studios in Leeds to London.
The rumoured relocation is reported to be due to presenter Des Lynam being tired of travelling to the studios from his home in Chiswick, West London. The programme has been filmed in the Yorkshire studio since it began in 1982.
Over 390 people have already signed the petition, claiming that the move would "deeply compromise many central tenets of the programme" and be against the wishes of the show's original host, Richard Whiteley, who died last year.
The messages include some from those who have worked on the show. One says: "I've worked on Countdown for more than 20 years and we love the show here. It's part of us. It's broken our hearts to think it's going to London for one reason only – Des Lynam has had a strop about travelling. Not fair and not right."
Channel 4 is reported to be "looking at various options" for next year, with some reports suggesting recording may be split between Leeds and London.
But a spokesman for the show denied that Countdown would be filmed anywhere other than Leeds: "The fact of the matter is that Countdown will begin filming in Leeds this autumn as normal. There are no immediate plans to move production to the south."
The rumoured relocation is reported to be due to presenter Des Lynam being tired of travelling to the studios from his home in Chiswick, West London. The programme has been filmed in the Yorkshire studio since it began in 1982.
Over 390 people have already signed the petition, claiming that the move would "deeply compromise many central tenets of the programme" and be against the wishes of the show's original host, Richard Whiteley, who died last year.
The messages include some from those who have worked on the show. One says: "I've worked on Countdown for more than 20 years and we love the show here. It's part of us. It's broken our hearts to think it's going to London for one reason only – Des Lynam has had a strop about travelling. Not fair and not right."
Channel 4 is reported to be "looking at various options" for next year, with some reports suggesting recording may be split between Leeds and London.
But a spokesman for the show denied that Countdown would be filmed anywhere other than Leeds: "The fact of the matter is that Countdown will begin filming in Leeds this autumn as normal. There are no immediate plans to move production to the south."
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