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This article is about the English television hostess. For the American actress see Ann Robinson.

Anne Josephine Robinson (born September 26, 1944) is an English television presenter and television game show hostess who is most famous for hosting the BBC game show, Weakest Link which coined her the name 'Queen of Mean'. She was also one of the presenters on the long-running British consumer affairs series, Watchdog, from 1993 to 2001.

Biography

Born in Crosby, Merseyside in Lancashire, Robinson is of Irish descent.^[1] Her father was a school teacher, while her mother Anne Josephine Robinson Sr. (nee Wilson), was a successful agricultural businesswoman from Ireland, where she was the manager of a market stall. When she came to England she married into her husbands family of wholesale chicken dealers, and sold rationed rabbit after World War II.^[1]

Raised initially at the family home in Crosby Beach, Anne and her brother attended the private Farnborough Hill School, a Roman Catholic Convent Boarding School in Hampshire. Robinson was hired as a chicken gutter and sales person during the holidays in the family business, before taking office jobs at a clerical post at a law firm. The family spent their summers on holiday in France, often at the Carlton Hotel, Cannes.^[2]

Early career

On leaving school, Robinson choose journalism over training for the theatre.^[3] After working in a news agency, she arrived in London in 1967 as the first young female trainee on the Daily Mail. Robinsons mother's going away present to her daughter was an MG sportscar and a fur coat.^[1] Robinson secured a permenant 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 station when he couldn't find an available taxi.^[2]

Her work was uncomfortable for her when she met and fell in love with the deputy news editor, Charlie Wilson, and the two got married in 1968 - he subsequently had to fire her as a result of the marriage. Robinson joined the The Sunday Times, and in 1970 the couple had a daughter (Emma Wilson), who's now a British radio disc jockey and has also hosted a game show in the U.S. on the Nickelodeon network. In 1973, the marriage disintegrated after Robinson like her mother became an alcoholic. That same year, both Robinson and Wilson initiated divorce proceedings.

In December 1978, she resigned from The Sunday Times and returned home to Crosby Beach to recover from her alcoholism. She then began working for the Liverpool Echo.

First female editor

Robinson returned to Fleet Street in 1980, working for Robert Maxwell as columnist and Assistant Editor of the Daily Mirror from the week that the Falklands War started. She also wrote a column under the pseudonym of the "Wednesday Witch," in which she developed her vitriolic style.^[1]

During her career as a newspaper journalist, she developed a flair for writing tabloid headlines. On 14 November, 1982 Robinson attended a formal diner attended by HM Queen Elizabeth II, at which she noted that Princess Diana 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 Diana was suffering from an eating disorder, named as anorexia in a scoop article on 19 November. As a result, Buckingham Palace Press Secretary Michael Shay rang then Mirror editor Mike Malloy to remove Robinson. Robinson was subsequently removed from the editorial rota, and was advised by Malloy to "...do more television petal, that's what you're good at."^[2] Robinson some years later was told why she was removed, and it was subsequently confirmed some years later that Princess Diana suffered from bulimia.

Robinson has subsequently written a weekly column for a succession of other British newspapers, such as Today, The Sun, The Express, The Times; and currently The Daily Telegraph.

Television presenting

Robinson began appearing on BBC television in 1982, initially as an occasional panellist on Question Time. From 1986 she wrote and presented consumer affairs television programme Points of View for 11 years, and later Watchdog. She also presented a weekly show on BBC Radio 2 on Saturday mornings, which ran from 1988 to 1993. She returned to the station briefly in 1996, sitting in for Jimmy Young on the Lunchtime slot for two weeks.

Robinson is best known for hosting the British version of Weakest Link. Robinson's icy persona, monotone voice and her usage of personal questions became infamous on Weakest Link. Her repeated icy utterance, "You are the weakest link — goodbye!" became a catchphrase soon after the show started in 2000. Robinson has also hosted the United States NBC primetime version of the show, which has since ceased production. Asked by the Duke of Edinburgh to present some Duke of Edinburgh's Awards, she agreed subject to him taking part in the Weakest Link - the Duke declined.^[4]

Currently, she also hosts the BBC's Outtakes programme, Outtake TV, and the BBC's interactive quiz, Test the Nation.

Other television

Robinson also hosted an episode of Have I Got News For You in 2002 where she was baited slightly by Ian Hislop because of her admiration for Robert Maxwell. The programme also showed a clip from a 1995 episode where Paul Merton made fun of her wink. She has also appeared on Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car, which is a recurring segment on the BBC Two motoring programme Top Gear.

In the US in 2005, she made a guest appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, where Robinson talked about herself admitting that she was an unfit mother.^[5] In addition, Robinson appeared as "Anne Droid" in a 2005 episode of the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who in the episode "Bad Wolf". In the episode, Robinson played a robot version of herself as the Weakest Link host, who appeared to disintegrate the losers on the show. She later appeared alongside Anne Droid on a Weakest Link: Doctor Who Special, in which she unplugs the robot. She also hosted a satirical news-based chat show on BBC One called What's the Problem with Anne Robinson?, beginning in 2005.

In 2006, Robinson was ranked number 46 in the ITV poll of TV's 50 Greatest Stars. Robinson was spoofed on the television comedy impressions show Dead Ringers. In April 2007, she guest starred as herself on My Family.

Other activities

In 1996 Robinson was made an Honorary Fellow of Liverpool John Moores University. In 2001, she published her autobiography, Memoirs of an Unfit Mother, in which she describes her former drinking problem.

Robinson caused a furore when she appeared on the comedy show Room 101 on March 5, 2001, and made derisive comments about Welsh people. Comments such as "what are they for" were supposedly based on dislike for people speaking in Welsh around the market stall operated by her mother during her childhood. She later apologized for the comments and agreed to do promotional work for the Wales Tourist Board to encourage people to visit the country.

In the same show she put comedian Ben Elton into Room 101 in protest at his hosting the Royal Variety Performance. She argued that he should be sent to the room "for being a total and utter hypocrite and going back on everything he stood for in the 80s and 90s". This despite the fact that she herself was a journalist on the left leaning Daily Mirror in the 1980s, but nowadays says she considers Margaret Thatcher to be the second greatest ever Briton.^[6]

Personal life

An admitted alcoholic,^[7] she 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.^[1] Robinson is married to journalist John Penrose, lives in the Cotswolds and is represented by the talent agency PFD.

On 23 April, 2006, the Sunday Times Rich List named Robinson as one of the UK's richest media personalities, worth £60 million (USD 112 million). She also appeared in the 2004 and 2005 rich list.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Memoirs of an Unfit Mother by Anne Robinson" - Post.ie - November 11, 2001
^ ^a ^b ^c "You Can't Fire Me, I'm Famous" - BBC1, in interview with Piers Morgan - 7th August 2007
^ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19980809/ai_n14169184
^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/bbcworldwide/worldwidestories/pressreleases/2002/10_october/radio_times_anne_robinson.shtml
^ http://www2.oprah.com/tows/pastshows/200502/tows_past_20050215.jhtml
^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/bbcworldwide/worldwidestories/pressreleases/2002/10_october/radio_times_anne_robinson.shtml
^ http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/article1919125.ece

External links

[Post.ie-1] "Memoirs of an Unfit Mother by Anne Robinson" - Post.ie - November 11, 2001

[YCFMIF-2] "You Can't Fire Me, I'm Famous" - BBC1, in interview with Piers Morgan - 7th August 2007

[3] ttp://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19980809/ai_n14169184

[4] ttp://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/bbcworldwide/worldwidestories/pressreleases/2002/10_october/radio_times_anne_robinson.shtml

[5] ttp://www2.oprah.com/tows/pastshows/200502/tows_past_20050215.jhtml

[6] ttp://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/bbcworldwide/worldwidestories/pressreleases/2002/10_october/radio_times_anne_robinson.shtml

[7] ttp://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/article1919125.ece

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@@ Line 32: / Line 32: @@
 ===Early career===
-From 1966-67, she was the first young female reporter at the ''[[Daily Mail]].'' Robinsons mother's going away present to her daughter was an [[MG (car)|MG]] sportscar and a fur coat.<ref name="Post.ie"/> Robinson secured a permenant 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 station]] when he couldn't find an available taxi.<ref name="YCFMIF"/>
+On leaving school, Robinson choose [[journalism]] over training for the [[theatre]].<ref>http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19980809/ai_n14169184</ref> After working in a [[news agency]], she arrived in [[London]] in 1967 as the first young female trainee on the ''[[Daily Mail]].'' Robinsons mother's going away present to her daughter was an [[MG (car)|MG]] sportscar and a fur coat.<ref name="Post.ie"/> Robinson secured a permenant 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 station]] when he couldn't find an available taxi.<ref name="YCFMIF"/>
 Her work was uncomfortable for her when she met and fell in love with the deputy news editor, Charlie Wilson, and the two got married in 1968 - he subsequently had to fire her as a result of the marriage. Robinson joined the ''[[The Sunday Times (UK)|The Sunday Times]],'' and in 1970 the couple had a daughter (Emma Wilson), who's now a [[United Kingdom|British]] radio [[disc]] [[jockey]] and has also hosted a game show in the U.S. on the [[Nickelodeon (TV channel)|Nickelodeon]] network. In 1973, the marriage disintegrated after Robinson like her mother became an alcoholic. That same year, both Robinson and Wilson initiated divorce proceedings.