A British TV legend is set for an epic comeback with a Channel 5 show three years after her controversial exit. 

Anne Robinson, 80, became a quiz icon after hosting The Weakest Link from 2000 to 2012 and even became the first female presenter on Countdown when she joined in 2021 to replace Nick Hewer.

She left the Channel 4 show after just a year and reports at the time suggested there was an on-set feud with Rachel Riley – who Anne was rumoured to find ‘too noisy’ – and Susie Dent, as well as a rumoured pay dispute.

However, she is now set to return to screens and host a new programme on Channel 5 called The Sentence: You Be The Judge. 

The show will see real hearings recreated while participants decide what sentence the criminal should receive. The actual sentence given by a judge is then disclosed.

Four other groups made of retired police officers, former judges, former inmates and relatives of victims will also be given a chance to give their verdicts on what sentence they believe to be fair. 

British TV legend Anne Robinson (pictured) is set for an epic comeback with a Channel 5 show three years after her controversial exit

She left the Channel 4 show after just a year and reports at the time suggested there was an on-set feud with Rachel Riley – who Anne was rumoured to find ‘too noisy’ – and Susie Dent, as well as a rumoured pay dispute

The participants’ decision will be put against the other groups to see how it compares. 

Anne spoke about the ‘jaw-dropping story’ the new show is set to bring to screens and said: ‘Why is the sentencing of criminals so widely inconsistent?

‘Why does a protester who climbs up a bridge to stop the traffic spend more time in prison than someone who punches an innocent man who dies as a result?

Read More Countdown fans question Anne Robinson’s ‘strange’ goodbye during her final episode as she leaves with ‘no fanfare’ after one year on the show amid rumours of backstage drama 

‘This programme tells a jaw dropping story. The government needs to watch it.’  

It comes three years after the TV presenter left countdown in 2022 and she told the Mail’s Alison Boshoff at the time how she ‘had a blast’ on the show. 

She said: ‘I only signed on for a year and I have helped them out by doing about 40 shows more than my contract.

‘I am moving on because I’ve got a lot going on – grandchildren, a big garden, an apartment in New York – and I want to enjoy them. Countdown has taken up more of time than I thought it would.’ 

She added: ‘It is great fun but it is intense. I go up [to Media City in Salford] and we do 15 shows in three 11-hour days. I’m built to last so I don’t really mind, but it does take up quite a chunk of my time.’

As for the reported rift, Anne said it was ‘nonsense’ but didn’t deny there was some distance between her, Rachel and Susie. 

However, she is now set to return to screens and host a new programme on Channel 5 called The Sentence: You Be The Judge

She said: ‘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.

‘Look, Rachel has just come back from having a baby and she is standing throughout and faultless, whereas I get to sit down. 

‘She is noisy, yes she and Susie both are – they are a formidable pair those two. But there isn’t a question of my going because of a rift, that’s nonsense.’

Anne shared how the filming schedule meant they rarely actually spoke to one another.