SHAMED Ghislaine Maxwell was left "broken" by her "horrendous childhood", according to TV star Anne Robinson.
The former Weakest Link host worked for the socialite's media tycoon father Bob for years and became one of his top executives.
She revealed how she was once asked to take Ghislaine under her wing, in a new interview with the Daily Mail.
Anne, 76, said while working for the Daily Mirror boss he asked her to look after his daughter, currently awaiting trial in the US on sex charges.
She added: "But I didn’t think that having Ghislaine as my next big project would be a good idea.
"She had a horrendous childhood, she lacked goals. I think she just went from one strong-minded man to another.
"She became a ferocious networker in New York, so I’m not surprised she ended up with very rich men.
"I don’t excuse anything, but nothing that happened to her in her young life was normal. They were all a bit broken, the Maxwell children."
Anne – just named the new host of Countdown – became one of the highest paid stars on TV after a successful career on Fleet Street.
Publishing tycoon Maxwell died in unusual circumstances on November 5, 1991.
He had been on his yacht, Lady Ghislaine, and had his last contact with the crew at 4.25am before going missing later that morning.
It was speculated that he had been urinating naked off the side of the boat, with his body later recovered nude.
Earlier this month, Ghislaine Maxwell was denied bail for a fifth time as a judge said Jeffrey Epstein's alleged "madam" still posed a flight risk.
A New York judge shut down the British socialite's latest attempt to be let out of a Brooklyn prison until her trial, which is due to start in November.
The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan issued a brief order rejecting Maxwell's latest request on grounds she might abscond.
The appeals court had rejected a bail request once before and her trial judge had thrice said no.
Maxwell, 59, faces up to 80 years in prison if convicted over her alleged role in procuring four underage girls for the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse between 1994 and 2004.
She has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and other charges.
A trial in Manhattan is slated for November and opening statements are scheduled for late in the month.,
Maxwell's lawyers have argued she has been mistreated at a federal jail in Brooklyn, though prosecutors dispute the allegations.
They have said she cannot properly prepare for trial because of sleep deprivation, a lack of drinkable water, a sewage stench in her cell, an inability to meet privately with her lawyers or keep jail guards from reviewing her confidential materials.
Her lawyer David Markus has said: "Ghislaine Maxwell is subjected to more grueling conditions than any other inmate.
"This is due to the Epstein effect. Because Epstein died on the jail's watch, it has decided to torture Ghislaine. That's wrong."
Epstein killed himself in a federal Manhattan prison in August 2019 while he awaited a sex trafficking trial.
Her lawyers have gradually increased the terms of a proposed bail package, saying Maxwell and friends and family would put up $28.5 million (£20m).
They also say Maxwell, a US citizen, would agree to 24-hour armed guards, an electronic bracelet and renounce her citizenship in England and France.
A spokesman for Attorney Audrey Strauss in Manhattan and a spokeswoman for the Federal Bureau of Prisons declined to comment.
Maxwell's trial judge, District Judge Alison Nathan, has rejected bail three times, calling Maxwell a significant flight risk.
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