Anne Robinson has quit 'Countdown' after a year.
Anne Robinson has quit Countdown after a year
The 77-year-old TV presenter filmed the final shows of her £500,000-a-year job earlier this year, after becoming the sixth presenter of the daytime show and the first woman to take the helm when she took on the role last year, but she now wants to "enjoy" spending more time with her grandchildren and at her New York apartment.
She said: "I have had a blast - we have taken the ratings up and transformed the guests too.
"We no longer have northern newsreaders in Dictionary Corner - we have had a raft of top celebrities.
"But I have made up my mind to quit the show. I only signed on for a year and I have helped them out by doing about 40 shows more than my contract.
"I am moving on because I’ve got a lot going on – grandchildren, a big garden, an apartment in New York - and I want to enjoy them. 'Countdown' has taken up more of time than I thought it would."
Anne admitted it was "intense" filming the show, and the sessions took up "quite a chunk" of her time.
She added to the Daily Mail newspaper: "It is great fun but it is intense. I go up [to Media City in Salford] and we do 15 shows in three 11-hour days.
"I’m built to last so I don’t really mind, but it does take up quite a chunk of my time."
But Anne has also admitted she can do an anagram "at twice the speed" she could last year since hosting the show.
She added in a statement: "I hope too I've encouraged TV bosses to realise that not all women at the wrong end of their 70s are in care homes playing bingo and watching conjuring tricks.
"In fact the genius of 'Countdown' is that it's a brilliant way to keep the brain exercised. I run 5km most days of the week.
"And I can now do an anagram at twice the speed I could this time last year."
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