Anne Josephine Robinson (born 26 September 1944) is an English television presenter and journalist. She was the host of
BBC game show ''
The Weakest Link'' (2000–2017).
She presented the
Channel 4 game show ''
Countdown'' from June 2021 to July 2022, taking over from
Nick Hewer. She left the programme on 13 July 2022 after recording 265 episodes.
Early life
Robinson was born in
Crosby,
Lancashire, on 26 September 1944 and is of Irish descent.
["Memoirs of an Unfit Mother by Anne Robinson" – Post.ie](_blank)
– 11 November 2001 Her father was a schoolteacher. Her mother, Anne Josephine (''
née
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
'' Wilson),
was an agricultural businesswoman from Northern Ireland, where she was the manager of a market stall. When she came to England, she married into her husband's family of wholesale chicken dealers, and sold rationed rabbit following the
Second World War.
She inherited the family market stall in
Liverpool and transformed it into one of the largest wholesale poultry dealing businesses in the north of England.
Brought up initially at the family home in Crosby, Robinson attended a private
Roman Catholic convent boarding school
A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...
in
Hampshire,
Farnborough Hill Convent
Farnborough Hill is a Roman Catholic independent day school for 550 girls aged 11–18 located in Farnborough, Hampshire. The school was established by the Religious of Christian Education order of nuns in 1889 and moved to the current site whe ...
, now known as Farnborough Hill. She was hired as a chicken gutter and saleswoman during the holidays in the family business, before taking office jobs at a law firm. The family spent their summers on holiday in France, often at the
Carlton Hotel in
Cannes.
Career
Early career
On leaving school, Robinson chose journalism over training for the theatre.
After working in a
news agency, she arrived in London in 1967 as the first young female trainee on the ''
Daily Mail
The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...
''. Robinson's mother's going-away present to her daughter was an
MG sports car and a fur coat.
Robinson secured a permanent position as a result of scooping the details of the story of
Brian Epstein's death from being a family friend of the Liverpool solicitor handling the legalities, offering him a ride to
Euston railway station
Euston railway station ( ; also known as London Euston) is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, managed by Network Rail. It is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line, the UK's busiest inter-city railw ...
when he could not find an available taxi.
Her work became more uncomfortable for her when she met and fell in love with the deputy news editor,
Charles Wilson; the couple married in 1968, but he subsequently had to terminate her employment because of the marriage. Robinson joined ''
The Sunday Times''. In 1977, her inability to hand in her
copy due to an alcohol-related incident led to her contract being terminated by ''The Sunday Times''.
She then began working for the ''
Liverpool Echo''.
Press
Robinson returned to
Fleet Street
Fleet Street is a major street mostly in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was na ...
in 1980, working as columnist and assistant editor of the ''
Daily Mirror''.
She also wrote a column under the
pseudonym of the "Wednesday Witch", in which she developed her vitriolic style.
During her career as a newspaper journalist, she developed a flair for writing tabloid headlines.
In discussing a raise with ''Mirror'' boss
Robert Maxwell, she asked for a doubling of her salary and a brand-new
Mercedes
Mercedes may refer to:
People
* Mercedes (name), a Spanish feminine name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or last name
Automobile-related
* Mercedes (marque), the pre-1926 brand name of German automobile m ...
to be written in her contract. Following the departure of her husband, Robinson demanded that Maxwell make up the difference in their joint income, which he did. Robinson wrote obituaries to Maxwell following his death in 1991, saying: "He left me reeling from his charm, his amazing panache and the sheer speed at which his brain worked. He was my inspiration and my hero". Her closeness to Maxwell was mocked by
Ian Hislop in 1999 as a panellist on ''
Have I Got News for You'', as well when she became the first guest presenter of the show in 2002. In ''Memoirs of an Unfit Mother'' in 2001, Robinson criticised Maxwell's
fraud
In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compens ...
ulent misappropriation of the ''Mirror'' pension fund (which fully came to light after his death), in which she said: "we failed to monitor what was happening on our doorstep", adding: "cowards had made his behaviour possible. Bankers, accountants, lawyers, who should have known better ... said yes when they should have said no."
On 14 November 1982, Robinson attended a formal dinner attended by Queen
Elizabeth II, at which she noted that
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...
, arrived late. Robinson asked the ''Mirror''s Royal editor
James Whitaker to investigate and, after conversations with various sources including Diana's sister
Lady Sarah McCorquodale, confirmed that Diana was suffering from an eating disorder, named as
anorexia in a scoop article on 19 November 1982. As a result,
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...
Press Secretary
Michael Shea rang then ''Mirror'' editor
Mike Molloy, asking him to remove Robinson. She was subsequently removed from the editorial rota, and was advised by Molloy to "do more television, blossom, that's what you're good at".
Robinson has written weekly columns for a succession of other British newspapers, such as ''
Today'', ''
The Sun'', ''
The Express'', ''
The Times'', and ''
The Daily Telegraph''.
Television and radio
Robinson began appearing on BBC television in 1982, initially as an occasional panellist on ''
Question Time'' and presenting her 'TV Choice' on ''
Breakfast Time''. From 1986, she began sitting in on television viewers' show ''
Points of View'' for regular presenter
Barry Took, taking over from Took permanently in 1988 and remaining for 11 years.
In 1993, she took over the presentation and writing of the consumer affairs television programme ''
Watchdog.''
Robinson presented a Saturday morning show on Radio 2 from 1988 to 1993.
In the UK, Robinson is best known for hosting the game show ''
The Weakest Link'', and in the United States its
NBC primetime counterpart, ''
Weakest Link''. She originally started with an icy, mysterious appearance and persona, maintaining her deadpan delivery to funny and friendly moments throughout; however, she toned down her icy, deadpan approach over the years, with her often smiling, engaging, and on occasion, even laughing, especially on the celebrity editions. Her use of insults, caustic remarks and personal questions fiercely directed at contestants became famous. Her trenchant and curt utterance "You ''are'' the weakest link – goodbye!" became a
catchphrase soon after the show started in 2000. Asked by the
Duke of Edinburgh
Duke of Edinburgh, named after the city of Edinburgh in Scotland, was a substantive title that has been created three times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not produc ...
to present some
Duke of Edinburgh's Awards, she agreed subject to his taking part in the ''Weakest Link''. The Duke declined.
In 2001, she was accused of hatred towards the
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...
, after describing them as "irritating and annoying" while appearing as a guest on ''
Room 101''.
Robinson is a vocal supporter of
fox hunting
Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds" (or "master of ho ...
and, before it was
banned
A ban is a formal or informal prohibition of something. Bans are formed for the prohibition of activities within a certain political territory. Some bans in commerce are referred to as embargoes. ''Ban'' is also used as a verb similar in meaning ...
in 2004, was a key supporter of the pro-hunt cause. ''
The Guardian'' claims she has ridden with the
White Horse Hunt
The Vale of the White Horse Hunt (or V.W.H.) is a fox hunting pack that was formed in 1832. It takes its name from the neighbouring Vale of White Horse district, which includes a Bronze Age horse hill carving at Uffington.
The original country ...
. In an interview with ''
Radio Times
''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...
'' in September 2000, Robinson was asked what her first act as world leader would be, replying: "I'd lock up all the hunt saboteurs because they are destructive. They are campaigning about something of which they know nothing." In February 2002, she hosted a spin-off version of ''The Weakest Link'' in
Cirencester to raise funds for the local White Horse Hunt. The event was
picketed by around 100 protesters from the
League Against Cruel Sports, around 70
animal rights activists returning from another
demonstration joined the picket, culminating in a near
riot
A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people.
Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targete ...
. The event eventually went ahead after Robinson was escorted into the venue by local police.
In 2005, she made an appearance on ''
The Oprah Winfrey Show'', admitting she had been an unfit mother. Also in 2005, she appeared on an episode of the revived ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'', entitled "
Bad Wolf", voicing a futuristic android version of herself named the "Anne Droid" on a lethal version of ''The Weakest Link'' in the year 200,100. When contestants lose as the "weakest link", the android blasts them with a disintegrator in its mouth, which really teleports them away to a
Dalek fleet. Robinson hosted the BBC's
outtakes programme ''
Outtake TV'' until 2009. She hosted a satirical news-based chat show on
BBC One called ''What's the Problem? With Anne Robinson'', and the BBC's interactive quiz ''
Test the Nation''.
A report published in 2006, which concluded that the BBC is "endemically homophobic", highlighted as one example of anti-gay bigotry in the network Robinson's treatment of a male contestant at ''The Weakest Link – Celebrity Chefs'', to whom she made questions such as "What do you do in your restaurant – just mince around?", and "Before you go, and bear in mind that this is a family show, what's the strangest thing you've ever put in your mouth?" The previous year she was also accused of bigotry when she told a female prison officer that she must be a lesbian.
The BBC received 16 complaints after Robinson asked wine connoisseur
Olly Smith, who was competing on the celebrity version of ''The Weakest Link'', to feel her breasts, after he described her as a "full-bodied, expensive red". The programme was broadcast on Saturday 5 April 2008 on
BBC One.
Robinson caused controversy on ''The Weakest Link'' when she made former ''
Blue Peter
''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC Tel ...
'' presenter
John Noakes cry after asking "What was the end for Shep?"
Shep had been Noakes's pet dog both on and off ''Blue Peter''.
In 2009, Robinson returned to presenting BBC One's long-running consumer show ''Watchdog''. She finished presenting ''The Weakest Link'' in 2012 after twelve years as the host of 1,693 shows.
On 10 September 2015, it was announced that Robinson would step down from ''Watchdog'' once again, this time in order to film a new series of ''Britain's Spending Secrets'' for the channel. She had presented ''Watchdog'' for a total of 15 years.
In 2016, Robinson presented ''Anne Robinson's Britain'' for BBC One. The series consisted of three episodes, each focusing on different aspects of British life. Episode one was centred on parenting, episode two on the nation's love of pets and particularly cats and dogs, and the final episode focused on the nation's fixation with how they look.
At the end of October 2017 on BBC Radio's ''
Today'' programme, Robinson responded to the accusations of sexual abuse made against multiple men which had followed
Harvey Weinstein allegations published earlier in the month. She accused women of not complaining until now.
According to Robinson, "40 years ago, there were very few of us women in power and, I have to say, we had a much more robust attitude to men behaving badly". At the present time, she claimed, there "is a sort of fragility amongst women who aren't able to cope with the treachery of the workplace". Referring to an allegation made against the trade minister
Mark Garnier about him asking a female assistant to buy sex toys: "It shouldn't be happening but, on the other hand, why have women lost confidence". She said this incident led her to be "in despair". Robinson outlined her method of dealing with the problem: "In my day we gave them a slap, and told them to grow up!"
Robinson was accused of
victim blaming on social media.
In February 2021, Robinson was announced as the next host of the game show ''
Countdown'' following the resignation of
Nick Hewer. Her premiere as host aired on 28 June 2021, marking her return to the show when she first appeared as a guest in the Dictionary Corner in 1987. In May 2022, it was announced that she will be leaving the show after just one year with immediate effect. Her last episode aired on 13 July 2022. In total, she recorded 265 episodes.
Personal life
Robinson married the journalist
Charles Wilson in 1968. In 1970 the couple had a daughter, Emma Wilson, who became a British radio
disc jockey and has also hosted ''
Scaredy Camp
''Scaredy Camp'' is an American television series that aired on Nickelodeon. It was hosted by Emma Wilson (the daughter of ''Weakest Link'' host, Anne Robinson
Anne Josephine Robinson (born 26 September 1944) is an English television presenter ...
'', a game show in the United States on the
Nickelodeon network. In 1973, Robinson lost a custody battle for Emma, her only child, then aged two. Charles Wilson was granted sole custody, care and control of Emma, who subsequently lived with her father until she left home at 16 for boarding school. An admitted
alcoholic, Robinson stopped drinking on 12 December 1978 after picking her daughter up from school and driving to a petrol station to buy a bottle of
vodka and joined
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an international mutual aid fellowship of alcoholics dedicated to abstinence-based recovery from alcoholism through its spiritually-inclined Twelve Step program. Following its Twelve Traditions, AA is non-professi ...
that year.
Robinson married journalist John Penrose in 1980.
On 30 September 2007, the couple announced that they were planning to divorce, citing "irreconcilable differences". In 2001, she published her
autobiography
An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life.
It is a form of biography.
Definition
The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...
, ''Memoirs of an Unfit Mother'', in which she describes her former drinking problem. In 2001, Robinson was diagnosed with
skin cancer and had surgery to treat it.
She has two grandchildren.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Anne
1944 births
Living people
20th-century British journalists
20th-century English women writers
20th-century English non-fiction writers
21st-century British journalists
21st-century British non-fiction writers
21st-century English women writers
Daily Mail journalists
Daily Mirror people
English autobiographers
English columnists
English game show hosts
English journalists
English non-fiction writers
English people of Irish descent
English radio DJs
English television presenters
English women journalists
English women non-fiction writers
English people of Northern Ireland descent
Journalists from Liverpool
People educated at Farnborough Hill
People from Crosby, Merseyside
The Sunday Times people
Television presenters from Liverpool
The Times people
Writers from Liverpool
BBC Radio 2 presenters
Women autobiographers
British women radio presenters
British women columnists