It has lost all its charm. Why?

It's awful...no heavenly curves. Rod Stelling is good for football scores, but not for this. I still say it's a ploy by 4 to get rid by losing viewers by the bucketload. Not sure who's in charge of Channel Four nowadays, but it sure has gone downhill in the last five years.

But at least we haven't seen the last of the delightful Miss Vorderman. She's sidling up to Cameron and the Tories from what I've heard. Perhaps our own Sarah Palin in the making? A better class of MILF though.. .

I think we should bear in mind that it took a VERY long time before the warmth and banter between Richard Whitely and Carol Vorderman really took off. Look at the very early episodes and you'll find a distinct lack of the warmth and charm that became the show's big selling point.
Jeff Stelling is an excellent broadcaster with a great sense of humour (as viewers of Soccer Saturday on Sky Sports will confirm). Rachel is in a similar position to the one Carol was in back in 1982- completely new to television and will take a while to get used to it.
Everything will be fine. They are both new to the programme and have a tough act to follow. Give it time.

Countdown used to have charm?

Maybe it has lost it's sparkle because nobody else wears jackets like Richard Whitely who, incidentally, lived not far from me.