Entertainment
Anne Robinson’s most brutal moments as she prepares for Countdown debut
Anne Robinson has already caused a bit of chaos ahead of her Countdown debut.
The former Weakest Link star is taking over from Nick Hewer as host of the Channel 4 show, and has already had a run-in with a contestant over her view on ‘woke’ language.
Despite the 76-year-old promising that she’ll be showing us her softer side (we’ll believe it when we see it), she’s become known as one of the spikiest characters in British TV – even recently lashing out at her predecessor Nick.
Starting her reign on The Weakest Link in 2000, Anne has dished out some of the most brutal insults on the show, sometimes coming under fire for moments that haven’t exactly aged well.
As well as her savage moments, she’s also had some times where she’s met her match, and a few pearls of wisdom.
Brutal Weakest Link insults
Some of Anne’s most brutal moments have been looked back at as more problematic than funny in recent times.
One shocking moment saw her ask a contestant why she was ‘dressed like a lesbian’.
‘Let me get this straight. You do lesbian chic, you’ve left England and you’re in Cardiff delivering milk. Are you on medication?’ she asked.
Another saw the host asking a woman ‘how many ASBOs [anti-social behaviour order]’ her sons had between them.
One more contestant explained she was a beauty therapist – and Anne wasn’t having any of it.
‘So you haven’t had any time to work on yourself then?’ she quipped.
Other brutal moments saw Anne asking contestants: ‘Who should have spent their money on a brain implant?’ and ‘Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the dumbest of you all?’
It wasn’t just the standard contestants that incurred Anne’s wrath either – the celebrities definitely weren’t immune.
Even Rylan Clarke-Neal couldn’t charm the ‘Queen of Mean’, as she asked him: ‘Rylan…is that your real name?’ before adding: ‘Did you especially want to sound like a stationery store?’
When she met her match
Anne never pulled any punches, but she occasionally met contestants who gave as good as they got.
During a US episode, one contestant, Howard, hit back when Anne asked him if there was anything interesting about his job.
‘Probably not. It’s interesting to me but I’m sure that it would probably go right over your head,’ he quipped.
After he criticised a fellow contestant for being too slow with her answer, Howard was asked by Anne if he’s always very quick.
‘In some things yes, in other things I like to take my time if you know what I mean,’ he cheekily answered.
‘I’ve absolutely no idea what you mean,’ Anne pressed, with Howard hitting back: ‘Somehow I don’t doubt that.’
Absolutely savage.
Elsewhere, Footballers’ Wives star Laila Rouass had her turn on the show, as she told Anne that Cher ‘looks good for her age – unlike some people,’ before regretting everything.
Interview best bits
While Anne is also pretty no-nonsense in real life, she does tend to drop her terrifying persona for interviews, giving fans a glimpse into her real life.
Over the years, she’s often been open about the double standards that affect women on TV, recently telling the Daily Mail: ‘If Huw Edwards had an identical twin sister, I don’t think she’d be reading the news on his day off, do you?’
She added to Hello! of the time when she was told she was the first female presenter of Countdown: ‘I balked when they first told me because I hoped we’d got past that. I said: “You might as well say it’s the first person with an under-active thyroid to do it.”
‘But then we had two female contestants on one of the early shows, and a female guest on Dictionary Corner. We had a punch to the air because the whole studio was female.’
Meanwhile, with original run of The Weakest Link ending in 2012, many would think Anne would leave that door open – but she’s insistent that she won’t return, telling the Independent: ‘You must never go back.’
‘I also think it’s worth mentioning that I finished in 2011, and ‘woke’ has happened since then,’ she added. ‘I imagine there are a great many things that I said that you couldn’t say now!’
We don’t doubt it.
Countdown returns on June 28 at 2:10pm on Channel 4.
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