Anne Robinson insists she'd 'never' get away with mean comments on The Weakest Link today

Anne Robinson thinks she'd "never" get away with her comments on 'The Weakest Link' nowadays.

The 79-year-old star - who fronted the BBC quiz show from 2000 to 2012 - became known for the harsh jibes she would often throw at contestants, but she has claimed her presenting style would have to be very different if she was still on the programme today.

She told The Oldie magazine: "You'd never be able to say all that now. Half of it would be stamped out."

However, she argued that the contestants actually enjoyed her being rude.

She explained: "I always thought the contestants would feel short-changed if I were nice.

"When we had a rehearsal with real-life people for the first time, I realised how competitive they were. I'd say, 'Why are you voting off Janet?'

"And they'd say, 'Because she has Jesus sandals and quite bad BO'. And I thought, 'Great - we can all be ourselves.' "

Anne became known as the Queen of Mean, but she didn't mind the nickname thanks to her background as a journalist.

She added: "I had spent years in a newspaper newsroom where that's the common banter."

Anne was also known for her iconic wink, but Romesh Ranganathan - who took over as host when the show returned in 2021 - was determined to make the programme his own rather than imitating his predecessor.

Referencing his lazy eye, he previously told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "The honest truth is, let’s acknowledge the elephant in the room, I always look like I’m midway through a wink - at all times.

“I did think about it. We talked about it at the beginning but there are certain things that Anne did that were textbook her, and so I just made sure I didn’t do. You want to do it in your own way. "

The ‘A League of Their Own’ star has ptosis in his right eye - following a major eye infection, aged three - which means he has a drooped eyelid.