Anne Robinson's patronising comments on northern newsreaders show she is the weakest link - Christa Ackroyd

And what a party it turned out to be.

It wasn’t the biggest I have ever organised, but it was certainly the best.

Because, my goodness, if the pandemic has taught us anything it is to cherish the friendships we have made and the memories we have yet to make.

Fifteen million people worldwide were not so lucky.

As I looked around the room there were people I had known for 40 years or more, some I had known for less than four. And many in between.

Their ages ranged from four to 70-plus.

They were from all walks of life (there has always been so much to my life than telly), but each and everyone of them has played a major part in this thing called living and so the room was filled with love, laughter and many reminiscences.

But more than that. As I looked around I could see what we all had in common, what keeps us connected.

And that is a zest for life. That is why they are my friends. Because if there is one thing I have come to realise over the years it is to surround yourself with positive people, people who make you laugh, people you believe in and people who believe in you.

Over time we lose friends along the way. Some we choose to let go, others simply fade away. But we learn to cling onto the very best of them. Or we should do.

I have never been happier than seeing everyone together at that party.

Just to hug again. Just to be together again. And to sing, even very badly and far too loudly.

It made me realise what’s been missing these last three years, the freedom to be ourselves without restrictions, the joy of meeting up and the gift of just living our best lives at any age.

Which is why I am so, so angry with Anne Robinson this week.

So why on earth would I bring her up when I started this column about friendship and reconnection?

Because I realise the thing that binds us together is positivity, not cynicism, kindness not rudeness.

And I can’t imagine making a career of either. Nor would I ever relish being known as the Queen of Mean.

And boy when it comes to Ms Robinson does she enjoy living up to the title?

Anne Robinson says she is leaving Countdown to spend more time with her family and grandchildren.

Nothing wrong with that, it’s an admirable ambition.

But what on earth possessed her to proclaim that by presenting that much cherished programme it was on behalf of older women?

Well she does not represent me or my friends. Ms Robinson went further saying she has shown the TV world there is more to being 70 than being in a nursing home playing bingo.

Firstly there is nothing wrong with playing bingo and if you are lucky enough to be well enough to not need care at any age that is a bonus.

But why denigrate those who are? Count your blessings Ms Robinson.

Not everyone is fortunate to be able to boast of an apartment in New York and good health.

But the thing that really angered me was her claim that she had changed Countdown for the better because her guests in dictionary corner were not simply “Northern newsreaders”.

Firstly I am proud to have been a Northern newsreader and secondly I have checked and no Northern newsreader appeared on that programme with one exception, my dearly missed pal

Richard Whiteley who was the very essence of the show and the very antithesis of cynicism and vitriol.

Not only that he was proud of being from the North and fiercely proud that the programme came from there.

His guests were far from being Northern newsreaders, from Tim Rice to Stephen Fry, Jo Brand to Michael Parkinson they also had one thing in common, they were nice people wherever they came from.

Of course there is more than a hint of irony in Anne Robinson’s anti-Northern rhetoric.

Firstly she comes from Crosby, on Merseyside, which the last time I looked was in the North.

Secondly she is leaving a show which appears on Channel 4, a channel which only a few days after news of her departure announced they were leaving London and moving towards being a Northern-based organisation, which is probably why they are advertising for, guess what, Northern newsreaders.

This of course all comes after Channel 4’s status as a national broadcaster is under threat due to the Government’s hasty and ill-informed decision to sell it into private hands, despite the

objections of the majority of the British public.

So I guess there will be a fair few more of us Northern newsreaders in years to come, despite Ms Robinson’s snobby attitude towards us all.

Countdown holds a special place in my heart because if there was one person who would have loved our crazy party this last week it is the man who will always be synonymous with the show and that is my pal Richard.

So Ms Robinson, goodbye. With only a year under your belt, in my book you were the weakest link in a TV show built on warmth and friendship.

But then isn’t that the North through and through?

And we will never apologise for it.