Entertainment
Anne Robinson doesn’t want Countdown contestants to be terrified of her Weakest Link persona: ‘I want to be able to play with them’
Anne Robinson is not afraid of bantering some of the Countdown contestants too (Picture: Rachel Joseph/ Channel 4)
Anne Robinson is set to make her debut as the new host of Countdown, taking over from Nick Hewer, but she admits that some of the contestants are scared of her due to her persona on The Weakest Link.
The TV presenter, 76, who begins hosting the show on Monday, revealed to Metro.co.uk that many contestants are fearful of her, thinking that she will be the ice queen they are used to on The Weakest Link.
She explained: ‘Yes, in fact, one of the rules I had, quite unconsciously on The Weakest Link was that I never, ever met the contestants before.
‘Even on the celebrity shows I would come on the programme as the lights were already ready to go and people would say “hi” and I’d just keep a straight face and ignore them and that helped to build atmosphere.
‘But on Countdown, for a couple of reasons, they are sitting there when I get into the studio and I do say “hello, how are you?”
‘It’s simply to allow them to see that the sort of slightly pantomime character on The Weakest Link isn’t all of me.
Anne is taking over the show from Nick Hewer (Picture: Channel 4)
‘It’s not going to be the same as The Weakest Link because that was a slightly exaggerated, horrible person but I’m me.’
Anne added: ‘I do think they are quite nervous. I don’t really want that because I want to be able to play with the contestants and get the best possible out of them. I don’t want to just say: “You’re from Birmingham and you once twisted your ankle before you went on The Big Dipper at Blackpool, because that’s very boring.’
Many of the contestants on Countdown are nervous they’ll get the fearsome Anne from The Weakest Link (Picture: BBC)
While some are expecting to see the mellower version of Anne on Countdown, she has promised that there will be some of the old sass that The Weakest Link fans know and love.
‘You might see that with some,’ she admits. ‘We had a couple on the last recording where it seemed very like The Weakest Link because they were funny and I could play with them.
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‘You just have to judge each contestant, don’t you? Well you do, I’m not asking you, I’m telling you!’
That’s us well and truly told.
Anne Robinson presents Countdown from Monday, June 28 at 2.10pm on Channel 4.
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