After 11 years fronting the Weakest Link, Anne Robinson has today announced that she has decided to relinquish her title as the Queen Of Mean and step down as its presenter.
You can read more about her decision to leave the show in an interview in today's Guardian.
The Weakest Link has been a hugely important and much-loved part of the BBC's schedules for well over a decade, but without Anne's iconic persona and acerbic wit (some of which I've been on the receiving end of as a commissioner), we have decided that we won't be recommissioning any new episodes following her departure.
I was working on BBC Two as its scheduler when Anne first started her incredible run of Weakest Link programmes.
By the end of its final series an amazing 1,693 episodes will have gone out with over 15,000 contestants who will have been asked over 235,000 questions.
I remember seeing the pilot episode and not being at all convinced she was right for the show.
Luckily, Jane Lush, who was the controller for daytime then, and head of entertainment David Young had other ideas and the rest is history.
Of course the series has not been without its controversy, with some of Anne's remarks at times causing a media storm, not least in Wales.
Like me, Anne's from Liverpool, but that hasn't stopped her aiming a few quips at Scousers and it's that side of her which would be impossible to replace.
Fans of Anne will, of course, continue to be able to see her in Watchdog.
I'm also pleased to announce that Anne will be back in the daytime schedules next year as we have just recommissioned another run of My Life In Books.
In terms of what will replace the Weakest Link, well, that's all still up for debate at the moment.
However, we've been really pleased with how some of our new quizzes on BBC Two have been doing, such as Pointless with Alexander Armstrong. A twittering Stephen Fry has already confirmed himself a keen viewer.
I, for one, am incredibly grateful to Anne in making this quiz such a brilliant watch over the years.
If you'd like to take a trip down memory lane, you can take a look at the very first episode that went out, on the Weakest Link site.
We're planning some special episodes to see the series out, which will be filmed in Glasgow in December 2011, and the show will continue to be on air until Spring 2012.
Liam Keelan is the controller of BBC daytime.
The Weakest Link is on BBC One on weekdays at 5.15pm. For further programme times, please visit the upcoming episodes page.
Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.
