Former 'The Weakest Link' Host Says TV is Ageist

[Brian Damage]

Presenter Anne Robinson has waded into the debate over ageism in showbusiness, by saying that "all television is sexist and ageist".

The 64-year-old made the comments in the Radio Times, ahead of her return stint as a Watchdog presenter, 16 years after she first hosted the BBC show.

"There are a lot of pretty young things with not much talent appearing on television," she said.

Robinson recently denied she had undergone a second face lift.

'Experience and wit'

Recent press attention has accused her of going under the surgeons knife again after Watchdog publicity shots were released.

But in Tuesday's Daily Mirror newspaper she said: "Of course I would say if I had had more surgery.

"It wouldn't be fair for other women to wonder how I look so unlined and they don't."

In 2004 the Weakest Link presenter admitted she had had a face lift and received botox injections to slow down the process of ageing.

She told the Radio Times she thought young women working in TV had a better chance of getting on than men in a similar position.

"There are a lot of pretty young things with not much talent appearing on television here, and I don't think that young guys who are not as attractive would get those gigs.


If you are old you're not going to play young leads any more, that's a fact

Joanna Lumley
"I'm quite pragmatic: If there was a lovely blonde with huge breasts and long legs who had my experience and wit, I'd be out of a job."

Robinson first presented Watchdog between 1993 and 2001, before going on to host of The Weakest Link in the UK and US.

Meanwhile, actress Joanna Lumley, 63, has revealed that getting older in the acting world does affect what roles you get - but she says that is completely acceptable.

"If you are old you're not going to play young leads any more, that's a fact.

"In the film world, the camera loves a young person, man or woman. That's a fact.

"In the acting game, there have always been 10 parts for men to two parts for women. That's a fact."

The Absolutely Fabulous star added: "None of these things are ever going to change. So absorb it, live with it, get over it."

The star, who was speaking at the launch of a new ITV1 documentary series, Joanna Lumley: Catwoman, said: "I'm not being unkind, but I'm just saying millions of crones like me shouldn't suddenly be given the lead in things, just because we're damn old and very sort of recalcitrant."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8231108.stm