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Once the highlight of afternoon television, Richard Whitely not only left a void in livings rooms up and down the country, he left sizeable fortune of just under £4 million.  The much-loved former Countdown host had a £3,926,414 fortune when he died last June, aged 61.

At one time, Richard Whitely shared his Chiswick home with Lesley Ebbetts, a fashion journalist he met while working for Yorkshire Television. She is the mother of Whitely's only child, James.

This week, nineteen year old James was told that he is one of the chief beneficiaries of the considerable will and that his father's stake in his Chiswick home now belongs to him. 

James will also receive a payout from his late father's pension when he is 25.

Silver haired Chiswickian Des Lynam took over as Countdown host at the end of last year. He was in the press this week after he leapt to the defence of his co-host Carol Voderman after she was criticised for her performance on the show.

March 9, 2006