No, does not get paid £100 by Channel 4 every time she gives a cheeky wink on Countdown.
The 77-year-old presenter, who took over from ’s Nick Hewer on the letters and numbers programme, occasionally treats viewers to her signature move, which was of course made famous on The Weakest Link.
Anne had joked that she gets money in her pocket every time she does her classic blink on Countdown.
‘I told them I get paid £100 per wink,’ Anne said. She added to the she had the agreement written into her contract.
‘I said, ‘It’s going to cost you £100 a show,’ Anne continued. ‘We film five shows a day, so that’s 15 shows a week, and an extra £1,500.’
Channel 4 has since confirmed that this is not actually the case and that Anne was being humorous. Classique.
Anne would famously shoot the Weakest Link viewers a wink at the end of each episode of the BBC quiz show when it aired for six years between 2003 and 2009.
Accompanying the move, she would say: ‘Join us again for The Weakest Link. Goodbye.’
Anne has since been replaced on The Weakest Link by comedian Romesh Ranganathan, who launched a celebrity version of the show in December.
The funnyman admitted at the time that he ‘wasn’t sure’ about taking over from no-nonsense quiz master when he was first offered the role because he did not want to change into a ‘shiny’ host.
‘I didn’t think that was one of the things that I would end up doing so when we talked about it I just wasn’t entirely sure if it was right for me,’ Romesh said.
‘They said to me, we just want you to be yourself and play it how I would play it.
‘I didn’t want to be something I am not and I didn’t want to change to this shiny floor quiz host so I thought I would just be myself.’
Metro.co.uk has contacted Channel 4 for comment.
Countdown airs weekdays at 2.10pm on Channel 4.
