Rachel Riley facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rachel Riley MBE
Riley in 2011
Born	Rachel Annabelle Riley (1986-01-11) 11 January 1986 (age 39) Rochford, England
Education	Oriel College, Oxford (MA)
Occupation	Television presenter
Years active	2009–present
Employer	Channel 4, Sky Sports
Spouse(s)	Jamie Gilbert ​ ​ (m. 2012; div. 2013)​ Pasha Kovalev ​ (m. 2019)​
Children	2

Rachel Annabelle Riley (born 11 January 1986) is a well-known English television presenter. She is famous for co-hosting the puzzle show Countdown on Channel 4. She also appears on its funny spin-off, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. Rachel is a talented mathematics graduate.

Rachel started her TV career at 22 when she joined Countdown. She loves making maths and science fun for everyone. She has also co-hosted The Gadget Show and It's Not Rocket Science. In 2013, she was a contestant on the popular dance show Strictly Come Dancing.

Rachel is also a strong voice against racism. She received an award called the MBE in 2023. This was for her important work in teaching about the Holocaust and raising awareness about antisemitism.

Rachel Riley's Early Life and Education

Rachel Riley was born in Rochford, Essex, England. Her mother is Jewish, and her family came to England from Tsarist Russia during difficult times. Rachel grew up in Thorpe Bay and went to Thorpe Hall School. She also attended Southend High School for Girls, a grammar school.

After high school, Rachel went to Oriel College, Oxford University. She studied applied maths and earned a good degree. During a university break, she thought about working in finance. She even did an internship at a bank in London. However, she found the long hours and the fast-paced environment were not for her.

Rachel's Television Career

Joining Countdown

Rachel Riley became a co-presenter on Countdown in 2009. She took over from the long-serving Carol Vorderman. Rachel's job is to place the letter and number tiles on the board. She also helps find solutions in the numbers rounds if contestants can't.

Rachel was chosen for Countdown at the same time as a new main host, Jeff Stelling. Her mother encouraged her to apply because she was good at maths. Rachel beat 1,000 other people for the role! She was thrilled to get "the only cool maths job around." Since 2012, she has also been on 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown with comedian Jimmy Carr.

Dancing on Strictly Come Dancing

In September 2013, Rachel joined the TV show Strictly Come Dancing. She danced with professional partner Pasha Kovalev, who later became her husband. Rachel was eliminated in week six of the show. She said she wasn't a natural dancer. Instead, she tried to act out a character for each dance.

For the first few weeks, Rachel felt very nervous before performing. She worked with a therapist to help her control her breathing. This allowed her to enjoy her final performance on the show.

Other TV Shows and Sports Presenting

From 2013 to 2014, Rachel co-hosted The Gadget Show on Channel 5. She presented three series of the show. In 2016, Rachel was part of the presenting team for It's Not Rocket Science on ITV. This show celebrated science in an entertaining way.

In 2016, Rachel also joined Sky Sports. She presented Friday Night Football with her former Countdown co-presenter Jeff Stelling. She also worked on Fantasy Football Club. She left Friday Night Football in 2017.

Rachel Riley's Personal Life

In August 2012, Rachel married Jamie Gilbert, whom she met at Oxford University. They separated in November 2013. Soon after, Rachel began dating her Strictly Come Dancing partner, Pasha Kovalev. They got married in Las Vegas on 28 June 2019.

Rachel and Pasha have two daughters. Their first child was born in December 2019, and their second daughter arrived in November 2021.

Rachel is a big fan of Manchester United football club, just like her father. She has even presented shows on the club's TV channel, MUTV. To celebrate her 1,000th episode of Countdown, Manchester United player Ryan Giggs gave her a signed team shirt. Rachel also appeared on the quiz show Celebrity Mastermind, where her specialist subject was the history of Manchester United.

In 2018, Rachel and her husband became vegan. Rachel identifies as an atheist who is Jewish through her mother's side of the family.

Rachel's Work Against Antisemitism

In 2018, Rachel Riley started speaking out against allegations of antisemitism within the Labour Party. She decided to speak up after seeing certain posters in London. She has stated that she doesn't have loyalties to any specific political party.

Rachel has been involved in campaigns to raise awareness about antisemitism. She has used social media to share her views. In 2021, Rachel won a legal case and was awarded damages after someone made negative comments about her on Twitter. She also won another legal case in 2022 against a blogger.

In 2023, Rachel was awarded an MBE for her work in Holocaust education and raising awareness about antisemitism. In 2024, she encouraged Jewish students to speak up against antisemitism. She also spoke out when an iPhone update suggested the Palestinian flag emoji when typing "Jerusalem", calling it antisemitic.

Other Projects and Book

Rachel Riley visits schools to get students excited about maths. She talks about interesting topics like applied maths, quantum mechanics, and time travel. In 2019, she was criticized by some environmental groups for promoting "future energy solutions" for Shell, an oil and gas company.

In 2022, Rachel took part in a study about online abuse. The study found that Instagram often failed to act on abusive messages sent to high-profile women. In October 2021, Rachel published her first book. It's called At Sixes and Sevens: How to Understand Numbers and Make Maths Easy.

Rachel Riley's Filmography

Television Shows

Guest Appearances

She has also made brief appearances in Dispatches, Britain's Brightest and 1001 Things You Should Know.

Recognition

• Rachel Riley was awarded an MBE in the 2023 New Year Honours. This was for her important "services to Holocaust Education and antisemitism awareness."