Vanessa Feltz has famously had a long-running feud with fellow TV legend Anne Robinson – but what went down between the two?
Presenter Vanessa, 63, shot to fame in the 1990s as a chat show host. Meanwhile, Anne, 80, is best known for presenting The Weakest Link from 2000 to 2012.
So, it’s no surprise to hear that their paths have crossed over the years.
However, things are far from rosy for Anne and Vanessa – who is on The Chase today (May 24). Here, ED! is taking a look inside their ‘feud’…
Vanessa Feltz and Anne Robinson’s ‘feud’ – Ben Ofoedu swipe
Back in 2021, Vanessa accused the former host of The Weakest Link of making “racist” remarks to her during filming of the show in 2006.
In a scene cut from the episode, Anne reportedly asked: “Vanessa Feltz, looking the way you do, how do you think you land all these big black boyfriends?”
Speaking about the incident, Vanessa told The Mirror: “I said: ‘I don’t think you will use that in the show as it’s racist and also completely inaccurate and in every way unsuitable.’
“And they didn’t use it. I thought it was very ill-judged and they must have agreed as it wasn’t aired.”
Vanessa’s swipe at ‘nasty piece of work’ Anne
Vanessa also hinted that Anne was a “nasty piece of work” after working with her on the show.
Writing in her column for The Daily Express later that year in 2021, Vanessa said: “All I know is when I first attempted the brand-new Weakest Link back in 2000, we nervous contestants imagined Anne’s virago persona would be just that – a panto performance for TV.
“We thought she’d be friendly behind the scenes and snap into gorgon mode as the cameras rolled. We were wrong.”
Vanessa continued: “Either the host was method acting or she’s a thoroughly nasty piece of work? You decide.”
Anne claps back at Vanessa Feltz
Anne later addressed the claims in an interview. She told The Mirror: “It took her 15 years to discover she was upset about it. I’d just been announced as the host of Countdown, and she thought, this will make a few headlines. And it did.”
Meanwhile speaking to The Sun, Anne also shared: “What I actually said to her was: ‘How can someone like you attract gorgeous black boyfriends?'”
Anne added: “First of all, she’d talked endlessly about doing just that, secondly it’d taken her 16 years to discover she was upset about it, and maybe if I had a radio show to promote I might have done the same. I’m not complaining about it, but it wasn’t quite what I said. I think she came twice on The Weakest Link and we certainly heard nothing for 16 years.”
She then said: “I probably couldn’t say it now, but it wasn’t derogatory except to her.”
Vanessa’s recent swipe at Anne
More recently, Vanessa appeared to reignite her feud with Anne during an appearance on This Morning.
On the show, the hosts and Vanessa were discussing Anne, revealing she had given away her reported £50m fortune in a bid to stop it from going to the taxman when she dies.
Reacting to the news, Vanessa didn’t hold back.
She said: “What she made by saying nasty things to people, I was one of them, and she got heavily reimbursed for saying really really unpleasant things. She was so mean!”
Vanessa went on: “£50 million for being a right old…” before cutting herself off.
Watch Vanessa on The Chase on Saturday (May 24) at 6:00pm on ITV1.
So, what do you think of this story? You can leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know.