Vanessa Feltz has claimed Anne Robinson once made a "racist" remark to her during her appearance on 'The Weakest Link' in 2006.
Vanessa Feltz
The 58-year-old TV presenter - who is married to Anglo-Nigerian singer Ben Ofoedu - has alleged the quiz show's host Anne asked her about how she attracts "big black boyfriends", and Vanessa has insisted it was a "very ill-judged" comment which didn't make it into the final show.
Vanessa has alleged Anne asked her: "Vanessa Feltz, looking the way you do, how do you think you land all these big black boyfriends?"
The radio DJ has told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "I said, 'I don’t think you will use that in the show as it’s racist and also completely inaccurate and in every way unsuitable.'
"And they didn’t use it. I thought it was very ill-judged and they must have agreed as it wasn’t aired."
Vanessa has admitted she was "startled" by the remark.
She said: "It was quite a startling thing to be told in the middle of a huge auditorium with a huge audience and lots of other contestants and a huge crew. It wasn’t a private, whispered remark in the toilet, it was part of an enormous television show.
"I didn’t raise it with anyone afterwards as I knew from my response that it couldn’t be used."
Drag act Dave Lynn was on the same episode of the quiz show - which Anne hosted from 2000 to 2017 - and was left "quite shocked" by the comment, and recalls saying to Vanessa it was "a bit racist".
He explained: "We took a break and I said to Vanessa, 'That was a bit odd. I thought it was a bit racist.'
"I think she meant it as a joke, but it didn’t come over like that and Vanessa dealt with it very well."
However, Vanessa doesn't want to see Anne axed from her new role as the host of 'Countdown'.
She said: "I think that was then and 'Countdown' is now."
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