Clare Balding remembers being fat-shamed by Anne Robinson on The Weakest Hyperlink 

Clare Balding has mirrored on a gathering with Anne Robinson, revealing the pair traded insults throughout an look on The Weakest Hyperlink. 

Anne, 77, was recognized for her acid tongue when she offered the BBC gameshow and is now mentioned to be embroiled in a feud along with her new co-stars on Countdown – Rachel Riley and Susie Dent. 

As Anne’s character has been referred to as into query in latest weeks, Clare, 50, weighed in on her expertise with the presenter. 

Clare – who appeared on The Weakest Hyperlink in 2005 – mentioned on Gabby Logan’s The Mid-Level podcast: ‘A few years in the past I did The Weakest Hyperlink when she was presenting it, and I received by way of to a face to face in opposition to Graeme Le Saux who as you’ll know may be very very shiny. Fortunately I did okay and I gained.

‘By way of the course of it, Anne had been very slicing and had talked a bit about after I was an novice jockey, and why did I surrender? 

I mentioned: “take a look at me, I received too heavy, proper.” So then she would continually use the road of “who ate too many cookies?”‘

Clare continued: ‘I mentioned within the interview on the finish: “Properly, Anne used my weight as a persist with beat me with, but when that makes the crusty previous cow completely happy, that is wonderful!” 

‘I believed “they will by no means use that”… It goes out and so they used that because the final line!

”Two days later I received a handwritten letter on beautiful headed paper from Gloucestershire. “Pricey Clare, I watched your version of The Weakest Hyperlink. You sparkled, and your intelligence and wit…”. Da da da.

‘It was all very nice and I believed: “Thank God she did not see the interview on the finish.” I turned over the web page and it mentioned: “I do hope we work collectively quickly. With love, the Crusty Outdated Cow”.’

Clare’s feedback come following stories Anne is at daggers drawn along with her youthful feminine counterparts Rachel Riley, 35, and Susie Dent, 56. 

Anne is alleged to have had Rachel’s microphone muted after complaining that the maths knowledgeable was ‘too chatty’ with contestants earlier than filming. She’s additionally mentioned to be irritated by Rachel’s timekeeping and behavior of spending time on her cell phone.

Rachel, for her half, is alleged to search out Anne ‘troublesome and imply’. She’s joined on this view by Dictionary Nook’s Susie.

There are additionally suspicions over the supply of a narrative about Susie’s marriage break-up — which turned public simply weeks after Anne joined the present in June.

These have added to divisions between Anne and the present’s two specialists. Issues are so fraught that a couple of supply related to the present believes Anne will go away early subsequent yr when filming is accomplished on the second tranche of episodes. ‘They must repair the problem,’ one supply instructed the Each day Mail.

However one other completely supply revealed Channel 4 has simply provided a brand new contract to the Cruella of Countdown — which she signed 4 days in the past. In different phrases, they’re delighted with the scores, Anne Robinson goes nowhere — and Rachel Riley and Susie Dent are simply going to should suck it up.

Simmering tensions got here to a head over Rachel’s behavior of chatting earlier than filming begins. Anne is alleged to have requested that producers muted Rachel’s microphone to close her up.

A supply mentioned: ‘Anne is famously recognized for 2 issues: her dislike of noise and time-keeping. She’ll tolerate neither.

‘Anne additionally has tinnitus and can’t bear extra sound. Rachel, along with her large heels and even greater character, might be fairly loud on set. Rachel used to speak to contestants earlier than each present and Anne discovered it vastly distracting so is alleged to have requested for Rachel’s microphone to be muted.

‘Anne felt she could not do her job correctly, or bond with the contestants to assist them to chill out, earlier than the cameras began rolling. 

‘Poor previous Rachel did not work it out for a few days and was babbling away fairly fortunately earlier than realising nobody may hear her. When Anne mentioned she wished silence, Rachel rotated in entrance of the entire studio and said publicly that she disagreed; that she did not discover it needed.

‘The stress was palpable. However for Anne, there’s nothing like a little bit of good-natured rivalry to get the juices flowing.

‘Rachel is clearly knowledgeable and by no means late for filming — she simply cuts issues extra wonderful than maybe stickler Anne would love. It is secure to say there is no love misplaced between these two, however it’s scores gold.’ 

An insider mentioned: ‘It is rather a lot Rachel and Susie in opposition to Anne — a case of two camps.

‘A number of crew are discussing what’s going on. Rachel and Susie do not care a lot for Anne and her fairly grand methods and issues have turn out to be fairly uncomfortable.

‘Anne likes to do issues her manner, whereas Rachel would not go together with how she operates.

‘This has now led to little social interplay between them away from the cameras.’

A supply revealed to the Mail that Anne has been excluded from social occasions involving the remainder of the forged and crew. Apparently she finds Rachel ‘caught up’.

One other supply mentioned: ‘Rachel would not like her and nor does Susie. There may be dissent within the camp.’

A 3rd supply mentioned: ‘Anne is a stickler for time-keeping and would not like seeing the youthful crew members, together with Rachel, on their telephones, on Twitter, continually. Mainly the 2 ladies are worlds aside.

‘Anne truly thinks Rachel is extremely quick-witted and vastly gifted, however the bother is that they’re each alpha females and, alas, just one might be prime canine.’