[Matt]

Anne Robinson is to leave the BBC quiz programme the Weakest Link and will not be replaced, the Guardian can reveal.

The BBC is to take the long-running daytime show off air next spring when Robinson's contract expires, rather than continue without "the Queen of Mean".

In an interview the 66-year-old presenter said the decision to leave, after 11 years, was entirely hers. She wanted to quit while she still enjoyed the show, and to devote more time to other projects including finishing her second book, which is based on 10 years of her diaries.

"I'll miss it. It's been superb. So it is a hard decision," she said. "If there's anything about longevity in television, it's about knowing what to take and what to turn down, and what to stop. It's often about what not to do anymore. And I just simply haven't got time to do the book," she said.

More info: http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-rad...t-weakest-link