Anne Robinson reveals she turned down Weakest Link twice due to ‘wake up’

Robinson, 77, spent 12 years in the Weakest Link hot seat from 2000 to 2012, and a Children in Need sideshow in 2017 and most recently as the popular host of Channel 4 Countdown

Former Weakest Link host Anne Robinson has revealed she turned down the chance to return to her old job twice due to “waking up”.

Robinson, 77, spent 12 years in the BBC’s hot seat from 2000 to 2012, and a Children in Need spin-off in 2017 and most recently as host of Channel 4’s hit show Countdown before resigning earlier this month.

The BBC revived the show in December 2021 with a 12-episode series featuring celebrity contestants, with comedian Romesh Ranganathan as host. The second season was in the works in March, which is expected to air later this year.

Robinson, who was also the original host of the American version of the game show, was known for his outspoken and strict personality on the show, which divided opinion among viewers.

But the veteran presenter believes her classic style will no longer be welcomed on television.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, she said: “Wokeness has captured the heart of comedy. Times have really changed.

“I don’t want to be a cheesy game-show host, and that’s what the BBC wants. What’s the fun if you can’t ask ‘What do you do when you’re not eating?’ or ‘Did you cut that hair to bet?’

“Nobody saw it had anything wrong with it, but you can’t say it today.”

Robinson, The Mirror’s columnist and assistant editor for two years in the 1980s, admitted that her hosting style was a “pantomime version of who I am” as she delve deeper into your entry into the program.

“Initially, it was a completely different show from the show that came out. Then we started testing it with real contestants.

“I asked one of them why the others should go, and he said bitterly, ‘Well, anyone who comes to see the show should know the names of the Teletubbies.’ And I thought, ‘Ah!’

“From then on, I could be who I am – who I am in a newsroom. When we did the pilot, someone let me down and I said, ‘You’re the weakest link’, and added “Goodbye. ‘

“I was very involved in the development. It was a pantomime version of who I am.”

Do you have a story to sell? Contact us at webcelebs@mirror.co.uk or call us directly 0207 29 33033.