Queen Of Mean’s fury at twin tower skyscraper plan
She memorably found fame and fortune by reducing grown men and women to gibbering wrecks. And now the Queen Of Mean, the indomitable Anne Robinson, is eyeing up her biggest target yet — a developer intent on building a twintowered hotel complex overlooking her home in the elegant heartland of Kensington.
One of the planned blocks is a skyscraping 331ft, which would make it the tallest building in the Royal Borough and the same height as the 28-storey Park Lane London hilton.
‘It’ll block out the light and wreck the skyline,’ says an appalled Anne.
The 73-year-old is eager to stress that the current building — a holiday Inn — also fails to find favour.
‘It was declared an eyesore in 1970, and last time I looked it was still an eyesore,’ she tells me, but adds that the proposals are worse. ‘I don’t understand how, in 2018, you can make it even more horrible.
‘It’s overseas money behind this and it’s of no benefit to me. I can’t think of a single way I can make use of this development — unless I had relatives I hated and I put them in there. I’m anti-development. I’ve lived in Kensington in the same house for 25 years. We are losing our last shop in my street this week that was there when I came here.’
Warming to her theme in a manner familiar to fans of the TV competition she reigned over for 12 years, she adds: ‘I don’t want dentists, making your teeth whiter with horrible fronts, I don’t want any more cafes. I’d like my underwear shop back, I’d like my newsagent back, and I’d like less traffic, and I’d like fewer cyclists unable to see the no-entry sign.’
The developer, Queensgate Investments, acknowledges that its shareholders are from several countries — including Britain — but declines to say if the majority are from overseas.
Kensington and Chelsea council has received 5,000 letters about the development and will deliberate on the proposal later this month.
But Robinson will not be marching on the town hall.
‘I don’t do marching,’ she says. ‘I just do shouting.’