Countdown host Anne Robinson has revealed today that she is stepping down from the popular Channel 4 game show after just one year. Anne, who is now 77, has had a long career in TV and radio.
Despite only joining Countdown in 2021, Anne has already filmed 265 episodes of the game show. However, she announced she was quitting the show this morning, saying that it was time for 'an older woman to take the reins'.
Countdown is just one of many TV shows Anne has hosted and she is most famous for being the presenter of BBC's The Weakest Link. As the host, she put on a formidable demeanour and regularly ridiculed the contestants on their answers, appearance and anything else she could think of.
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Her career actually started in journalism but she soon found her way onto radio and TV. Find out more about Anne's career below.
Early life
Anne Robinson was brown in Crosby, in Lancashire in 1944. Her mother, Anne Josephine was a businesswoman from Northern Ireland who moved to England when she married Anne's father, a schoolteacher.
As a child, Anne attended a private Roman Catholic convent boarding school in Hampshire called Farnborough Hill Convent. She worked for the family chicken business in the holidays before taking office jobs at a law firm.
Anne Robinson's career
Anne started her professional career as a journalist and was the first young female trainer at The Daily Mail. She secured a permanent position at the paper after scooping the details of Brian Epstein's death.
She later married the paper's deputy news editor Charles Wilson, but she was forced to leave the paper because of their relationship in 1968. She then joined The Sunday Times.
Anne however, has admitted to being an alcoholic and in 1977 she was fired from The Sunday Times because of this. She reportedly interviewed someone while drunk for the paper and then failed to hand in her copy. She then joined the Liverpool Echo.
But her stint working for papers on Fleet Street was not over and in 1980 she began working for the Daily Mirror as a columnist and assistant editor. She wrote a column under the pseudonym "Wednesday Witch", where she first adopted her forbiddable persona. She has also written for a number of other newspapers including Today, The Sun, The Express, The Times, and The Daily Telegraph.
Her TV career saw her present the BBC's consumer show Watchdog, which she hosted for 15 years. During this time she also became the host of The Weakest Link, where she was known for mocking the contestants. Her catchphrase "You are the weakest link - goodbye!" was famous across the country.
Love life
Anne married Charles Wilson in 1968 while they both worked at The Daily Mail but she was forced to leave the paper due to their relationship. The couple later divorced but not before they had a child together, Emma Wilson. Charles received full custody of Emma.
Anne later married journalist John Penrose in 1980. However the couple announced they were planning on getting divorced in 2007 and cited "irreconcilable differences".
What is Anne Robinson's net worth?
Anne Robinson reportedly has a net worth of £35.8m, according to Celebritynetworth.com.
