Anne Robinson says she would ‘never get away with’ Weakest Link insults today

Presenter faced controversy this year after clips from BBC gameshow resurfaced online

Anne Robinson has admitted that her scathing insults on The Weakest Link would be unlikely to air today.

In February, a series of old clips of Robinson presenting the BBC gameshow went viral after it was announced that she was the new host of Countdown.

In one video, the presenter is seen questioning a contestant who is a full-time single mother, asking her: “So how many Asbos [anti-social behaviour orders]?” before adding: “How many of your three boys have got tags on their ankles?”

In another clip, she told a different woman that she looked “a bit lumpy and ugly”.

Speaking to The Daily Mail, Robinson said that she would “never get away with all that now”.

“I don’t think half the things I said then I could say now,” she theorised. “Like, ‘Are you really that stupid?’ Or ‘Why are you so fat?’ That would be off limits.

“Everyone would be too worried about the poor contestants’ mental health. Everyone would be too worried about sending them home with issues.”

Robinson presented The Weakest Link from 2000 to 2012. She replaces Nick Hewer as the new host of Countdown, which begins later this month.