Word puzzle

[EFC1878]

I heard a competition on the radio today (but not the answer) that asked "what 9 letter english word can you remove 1 letter then another etc yet the remaining 8, then 7, then 6 letter words remain a valid english right down to the point that you only have a single letter left"

Does anybody know what the original 9 letter word is?

[theprof]

Startling:

I, in, sin, sing, sting, string, staring, starting (or starling), startling

[don1]

This old chestnut has been around since I had curly hair