When Richard Whiteley died on 26 June 2005, he was mourned by a nation. But there was more to this engaging and 'bumbling' character than met the eye. Kathryn Apanowicz first dated Richard Whiteley when she was seventeen, leading to a thirty year on-off relationship that saw them finally living together for seven years until his death. Kathryn knew the private side of Richard that he kept hidden; the women in his life; his anguish at the deaths of his mother, sister and niece within months of each other; his thoughts on the celebrities he met; his time as a political reporter and journalist (he interviewed every British Prime Minister since Harold Macmillan); his pride in Countdown; the moment he received his OBE and his unfailing charity work. In this affectionate and warn tribute to a self-effacing and charismatic man, Kathryn Apanowicz reveals the personality behind the television presenter - the successes, the tragedies and the laughter. For the first time, Kathryn shows us the real Richard, a man who everyone thought they knew but only a few ever really did.