Countdown is beloved by students and pensioners alike. The friendly competition to find the right words won them an army of fans. Producers of the show are concerned that Anne Robinson, a new host, could cause problems.
Sources on set report an ‘awkward and uncomfortable atmosphere’ between the acid-tongued former Weakest Link presenter and the programme’s glamorous maths whizz, Rachel Riley.
Staff at Media City studios in Salford claim that off-camera, there’s tension over Ms Robinson’s ‘rather grand ways’, which have earned her the nickname ‘Queen Anne’.
Resident lexicographer Susie Dent is said to have sided with Ms Riley in what is seen by some as a ‘young versus old’ divide.
Sources on set report an ‘awkward and uncomfortable atmosphere’ between the former Weakest Link presenter and the programme’s maths whizz, Rachel Riley (pictured above)
An insider told The Mail on Sunday: ‘The tension between Rachel and Anne is being openly discussed. It is very much Rachel and Susie against Anne – a case of two camps.
‘Lots are discussing what is happening. Rachel and Susie don’t care much for Anne and her rather grand ways and things have become pretty uncomfortable.
‘Anne likes to do things her way, while Rachel doesn’t go along with how she operates. This has now led to little social interaction between them away from the cameras.’
Colleagues also claim 77-year-old Ms Robinson, who presented her first show in June, ‘doesn’t mix with anyone’ and brings her own stylist and make-up artist to the studios.
Ms. Dent, a 56-year-old Oxford graduate, recently separated from Paul Atkins, her husband of 20 year, and is now close friends with Ms. Riley, 35, who both went to the same university.
Ms. Robinson is open about her disdain for the young, woke crew. Interviewed before she replaced Nick Hewer as host of the show, she said: ‘I am fed up with it… I just think we’re being told what to do by people who aren’t in a position to tell us what to do.’
Lost for words: Anne Robinson (above), Ms Riley barely speak off camera. Staff at Media City studios claim that off-camera, there’s tension over Ms Robinson’s ‘rather grand ways’
Ms Riley is currently pregnant with her second child, and has been attacked by hard-left activists for her campaign against antisemitism within the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn.
Ms Riley said of the social-media trolls: ‘They were so abusive. I’ve developed a thick skin but now I never see a lot of things, even nice stuff, which is a shame because I used to use Twitter to help children with maths homework.’
Channel 4 declined to comment on last night’s broadcast.