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You have to wonder who the other contenders were, if Anne ‘Queen of Mean’ Robinson is the best choice to host Countdown – telly’s gentlest, kindest quiz.
Even in a shortlist of, say, Dame Maggie Smith, Jeremy Clarkson and Miriam Margolyes, Angry Annie is easily the grumpiest.
This is a woman who, on her BBC2 gameshow The Weakest Link, reacted with disbelief when one contestant revealed she was a beauty therapist. ‘You’ve not got round to working on yourself,’ she snapped.
And as she plonked herself down for the first time in the presenter’s chair on Countdown, she didn’t seem to be fully in tune with the 40-year-old show’s soothing character. Glancing at her notes, she turned to the first player, Steve, and asked acidly: ‘You’re from Manchester, you’re an accountant – is that as exciting as it sounds?’