Passing JUDGEMENT

ANNE ROBINSON on exploring the public's perception of the justice system

- NATASHA HOLT

YOU BE THE JUDGE: CRIME & PUNISHMENT NEW TUESDAY, 9PM, 5 FACTUAL

Anne Robinson's background in journalism made her keen to take the helm of 5's new social experiment, You Be the Judge: Crime & Punishment. The one-off special sees the reconstruction of four real-life sentence hearings - a key part of the trial process that juries are excluded from. Participants and viewers will be asked to compare their judgements on convicted criminals before learning the sentence passed by the real judge.

Here, Anne, 80, who presented BBC quiz Weakest Link from 2000 to 2012 and C4 game show Countdown between 2021 and 2022, gives us her take...

How did your early career as a newspaper reporter and editor help make this project stand out for you, Anne?

My favourite journalism is the kind where, hopefully, I learn something, and the people who watch the documentary learn something, too. I was completely astonished by what I learnt about how sentencing comes about; it was jaw-dropping.