A former contestant on The Weakest Link has confirmed that Anne Robinson maintained her chilling on-screen persona behind the scenes, never greeting contestants before filming.
Sonia Sharp, who appeared on the BBC quiz show in 2004, told OLBG.com that she saw Robinson in the green room but the host walked past without saying a word.
Contestant's experience
Sharp said: "We saw her in the green room for a few seconds beforehand and I thought she might say hi to everyone. But she didn’t. She just walked past everyone."
When asked about her preparation, Sharp admitted that revising 100 questions daily did little to help. She said: "I was sort of trying to do at least 100 questions. But to be honest, that doesn't prepare you at all. There's such a wide range of questions that you can be asked."
Robinson's explanation
Robinson, who hosted the original series from 2000 to 2012, previously explained in a 2021 Metro interview that she deliberately avoided contestants to build atmosphere.
She said: "One of the rules I had, quite unconsciously on The Weakest Link was that I never, ever met the contestants before. Even on the celebrity shows, I would come on the programme as the lights were already ready to go and people would say 'hi' and I’d just keep a straight face and ignore them, and that helped to build atmosphere."
Robinson also commented on the 2021 revival with Romesh Ranganathan, saying: "It’s not going to be the same as The Weakest Link because that was a slightly exaggerated, horrible person but I’m me."
The Weakest Link is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
