It’s been revealed today that The Apprentice star Nick Hewer is to take over from Jeff Stelling as the host of long running game show, Countdown.

Nick – who’s Lord Alan Sugar’s right hand man on The Apprentice – apparently won the role thanks to his “wit and charm.”

He beat off other contenders for the job, including, according to the Daily Mirror, Sue Barker, Liza Tarbuck, Terry Wogan, Aled Jones, Rory Bremner and show regular Giles Brandreth.

A Channel 4 insider told the paper, “He was so witty and charming they were just blown away.”

And a spokeswoman for the channel added, “We are absolutely delighted to have Nick on board.

“He is such a fantastic character and has a huge fan base so he’ll make a great addition to the team.”

Nick is expected to begin his new job next month, with his first on-screen appearance airing in the New Year. Maths whiz Rachel Riley will remain as… erm, well, the letter handler and adder uppererer…

Needless to say, my singular lack of intelligent vocabulary – as above – means I will not be applying for the show.

However, getting back to Nick’s new role, and apparently, he intends to continue working on The Apprentice as well, having been given permission from both the BBC and Channel 4 to do so.

Nick has become the fifth Countdown host, with Jeff of course being the fourth, and before him, the show was hosted by Des Lynham and Des O’Connor, who took the reigns after Richard Whiteley died in 2005.

Do you think he’s a good choice, or would you rather have seen someone else in the job?