BRILLIANT HOST ROBINSON WASN’T THE WEAKEST LINK ON COUNTDOWN

COUNTDOWN’S nondescript number cruncher Rachel Riley appeared to be celebrating Anne Robinson’s departure from the show as she raised a glass on Instagram to its “next chapter”.

Reports of a rift between the two have been rife, with rumours Anne was irritated about Rachel jabbering noisily to contestants on set (which distracted her), spending too much time on her phone and often being late. Did she think Ms Riley was a bit of a “lite” flibbertigibbet?Who knows?

But now Anne has quit and leaves the show with its highest ratings in a decade.

I imagine Rachel fancies herself for the job – even though it was Anne who sent the ratings soaring, not her. But then, to be a successful main presenter you need talent, a ton of charisma and a big personality. Anne has all three in spades, Ms Riley not so much.

In fact, in the 13 years she’s been on TV she’s barely made a mark other than on Countdown, a gig on The Gadget Show and a stint on Strictly. Although this week she did get a whole page in a newspaper talking about how some nameless celebrity had upskirted her.

Annie, on the other hand, has had a stellar 50-year-career and is a multi-millionaire with homes all over the shop – all because she takes what she does extremely seriously. She didn’t get where she is because of her looks or by flogging herself on social media – it was with talent, hard graft and determination.

I suspect Ms Riley’s TV career will start to fade around the same time as her looks. Perhaps instead of being “snippy” about Annie Robinson she should have learnt from her. Because, even at 77, Annie still has a TV career that Ms Riley would give her right arm for.