Countdown star Rachel Riley has revealed that she fears she will be remembered for her time on Strictly Come Dancing in 2013.
Recognised primarily for her role as the programme’s numbers expert during Countdown’s golden era, Rachel has established herself as one of television’s most familiar personalities in recent years.
While she’s usually the one watching competitors face challenges, she experienced something of a role swap in 2013 when she took part in the hugely popular BBC programme, Strictly Come Dancing.
Following her journey to the sixth week of the series, she faced elimination alongside her professional dancing partner Pasha Kovalev, while viewers subsequently witnessed Abbey Clancy and Aljaž Škorjanec lift the coveted Glitterball trophy.
However, despite outlasting numerous other celebrities on the programme, Rachel remained less than impressed with her own dancing displays, recently confessing on Russell Howard’s Five Brilliant Things podcast: “Wouldn’t it be great if we could pick our own death photo that they’re going to use? And they have to stick to it. Because I know it’s going to be me looking s*** on Strictly.”
While she acknowledged her dissatisfaction with her performances on the programme, the dance competition proved instrumental in introducing her to her future husband, Pasha Kovalev.
Following their partnership during the 2013 series, their romance was confirmed 12 months later when they were spotted together at a London Fashion Week event.
During a 2019 appearance on Lorraine, she expressed her affection for her husband and how the dancer had supported her through some challenging times due to online trolling: “He’s just amazing. When you need a bit of support, that’s when you know you’re with the right person. He’s a very good egg, Pash.”
In other news, Rachel will be back on our screens later tonight in the latest episode of Countdown and 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown.
The show will be hosted by stand-up comedian Jimmy Carr, while Richard Ayoade and Harriet Dyer will face off against Bob Mortimer and Tom Allen, with Rachel resuming her usual role as the mathematician.