'They were very clear' Celebs Go Dating's Anna Williamson talks replacing axed Nadia Essex

express.co.uk:

Channel 4’s Celebs Go Dating after the show’s previous presenter Nadia Essex was fired for trolling her co-stars on social media.Speaking exclusively with Express.co.uk, the star praised the series for “getting behind her” when she took on the role amid the ongoing controversy.

Anna, 40, explained how she felt “very lucky” that Channel 4 bosses backed her to take over the Celebs Go Dating role in 2018, after the show's previous host Nadia Essex was axed.  “I'm very lucky because Lime Pictures, who make the show on E4, and Channel 4 have been so supportive of me,” she said.“They got behind me for the job.They were very clear on me making it my own role because I obviously inherited the job from somebody else.”Nadia was a dating expert on Celebs Go Dating between 2016 and 2018, but was suspended after two years on the show for trolling her former co-host Eden Blackman on social media.She was subsequently removed from the show midway through filming of the fifth series in September 2018, with a show spokeswoman telling BBC News: “Nadia has been suspended following improper use of social media”.Eden quit the show after its fourth series, reportedly over a fall out with Nadia, and was replaced by Anna’s current co-host Paul Carrick Brunson, who runs a dating agency of his own.Anna first appeared on the series in 2019 and fell pregnant that same year.

She went on to praise Channel 4, calling them “amazing” for the way they handled her baby news and for how they encouraged her to make the Celebs Go Dating role her own, despite "inheriting" it from Nadia.“This job has been such a gift for me; it really is my most favourite job and I’ve been blessed to have some lovely jobs,” she began.“It's so lovely that we all feel very much.