She was Weakest Link … Anne Robinson to leave hit show

Robinson was dubbed the "Queen of Mean" in reference to her withering asides while verbally sparring with contestants on the long-running BBC quiz show.

The BBC said it would not be recommissioning the programme after her departure and had yet to decide what would be aired in its place.

Commenting on her decision to leave after 11 years, Robinson said: "It's been superb. So it is a hard decision. If there's anything about longevity in television, it's about knowing what to take and what to turn down, and what to stop."

She added: "My fee wasn't cut. I originally said I would do (the programme for] ten years. I did a year more than I intended to."

Special episodes of the show will be filmed in Glasgow in December and the final series will go off-air next spring.

After voting in each round, outgoing contestants left the set to the sound of her curt catchphrase: "You are the weakest link. Goodbye."

By the end of its final run, the show will have clocked up 1,693 episodes, with more than 15,000 contestants appearing, being asked around 235,000 questions.