e always feared he would be remembered only as the man who was bitten by the ferret.

True, that oft-trotted out staple of TV blooper shows will always have enduring appeal for those who like to have regular doses of Denis Norden in their lives, that image of a nonplussed, bespectacled Whiteley with said rodent dangling off his arm as a light-hearted filler slot on YTV's magazine programme Calendar.

But the man dubbed Twice Nightly Whiteley - he often appeared on both his hit quiz show Countdown and presented Calendar on the same evening - is much more than a comedy figure with a ferret dangling off his sleeve, certainly for his legion of fans and his long-term partner, the actress Kathryn Apanowicz, who has penned this biography of Whiteley following his untimely death last year aged just 61.

Indeed, the word "ferret" doesn't even appear in the index of the book - called simply Richard by Kathryn - so perhaps that particular ghost has long been laid to rest.

As much of a straight biography of Whiteley, the book is also the story of the enduring love between him and Apanowicz.

The pair met for the first time when she was just nine years old, in the shared dressing rooms at YTV, when Richard was preparing for Calendar and the young Kathryn was appearing on Junior Showtime. It wasn't, though, until Kathryn was 17 that they went on their first proper date, which formed the basis of what she calls their "on-off relationship" which culminated in them living together for the last eight years of Richard's life.

The portrait Kathryn paints of Whiteley is, as you would expect, a tender, loving one. Having a partner write a biography can be a double-edged sword; on the one hand they are well-placed to have intimate knowledge of the subject's life and feelings, but on the other they are generally going to have a less objective view of the person in question than an independent biographer.

But there will be few readers who are looking for dirt to be dished on Richard Whiteley.

When he died Countdown producers Channel 4 were swamped with more than a quarter of a million messages of condolence.

The quintessential "housewife's favourite" was, though, the subject of tabloid interests for his brief marriage, and his string of girlfriends, one of which bore him a child, but his reputation refused to be tarnished - and Apanowicz is to be commended for tackling these head on in the biography with a clear head.

Whiteley's early life in Bradford is well documented, as is his first steps on the career path in journalism and TV that led him to becoming a true television icon.

Whiteley is one of the rare breed of TV stars that we don't see too many of these days; unapologetically regional, charming, down-to-earth and just wanting to get on with the job at hand, namely making people smile, with little or no interest in lording it like a A-list celebrity.

There are no tantrums or examples of outrageous behaviour to report, just a solid showbiz story of a local lad made good.

Many young people breaking into TV today could do well to read Kathryn Apanowicz's book, which details in a highly readable and fondly-turned fashion the life of a man who achieved his dreams in life by simply being a thoroughly nice chap.

lRichard by Kathryn: The Life of Richard Whiteley, by Kathryn Apanowicz, is published in hardback by Virgin Books priced £17.99.