Countdown’s Rachel Riley reignites Anne Robinson feud with fresh swipe at former Channel 4 co-star
COUNTDOWN’S Rachel Riley has reignited her feud with Anne Robinson as she took a fresh swipe at her former Channel 4 co-star.
The former Weakest Link presenter stepped down as the first female host of the long-running Channel 4 intellect show in July 2022.
It was widely reported that Anne, 78, and numbers superstar Rachel, 37, clashed while working together on Countdown after The Sun revealed the feud.
They were on air together for a total of 13 months on the show between 2021 and 2022.
After Colin Murray, 46, took over the role held by the former Watchdog host, she has now opened up about her working relationship with the presenter.
In a new interview with The Sun’s Fabulous Magazine, Rachel explained that there is a different atmosphere in the studio after her departure.
She explained: “Each presenter has their own style and you don’t always gel with everybody that you work with.
“Well, you’re not going to get a sympathetic shoulder to cry on from Anne. But she might make you cry!”
It comes after Anne addressed the pair’s feud on an episode of Piers Morgan Uncensored last year.
After speaking in depth about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Piers moved onto Anne’s time on the Channel 4 favourite.
“You’ve just left Countdown which a lot of fans will be very upset about,” he said.
“You were brilliant on it. I read the sort of tealeaves, it looked like people weren’t getting on great. Would that be fair, all of you?”
Anne replied: “Susie Dent is great Rachel Riley is completely brilliant at the maths.”
Piers then probed: “You just didn’t get on well?”
“No, I didn’t not get on,” the departing Countdown host hit back.
“But some performers like a lot of noise around them before they go on air and others like me, who are trying to get the contestants to remember what their hobbies are, would like some quiet while she’s doing that.
“So it was important to me that we took her mic off so that I could have some peace.”
Back in May of last year, Anne also told the : “I’m not saying I would go on holiday with Rachel Riley, but she is brilliant”.
“Absolutely honestly, I do admire her – she is really, really good at what she does, as is Susie Dent.
“She is noisy, yes she and Susie both are – they are a formidable pair those two.”
She added: “The way that it’s filmed is so tight that… we don’t have time to talk to each other.
“Between shows we have a ten-minute turn around to get changed. We can go for almost a whole run without doing more than waving to each other from the end of a corridor.”
