Was the �900,000 purely for doing Countdown .... of did it include other work for whoever actually produces Countdown. If it was just for Countdown then nearly a million quid does seem rather high for that particular job. �90,000 for a high profile TV presenter on a popular show seems about right. I heard on the radio that the producers were told by C4 that they were not going to plough as much money into the show so budget cuts were inevitable. It also said other employees (except Des) were taking a 30% cut. If your average studio worker is on about �30,000 that's a big reduction. It smells as if they wanted Carol out to me and that this was as good a way as any of doing it.