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

Rachel started her TV career when she joined Countdown at 22 years old. She loves making maths and science fun for everyone. She has also co-presented The Gadget Show on Channel 5 and It's Not Rocket Science on ITV. In 2013, she was a contestant on the BBC dance show Strictly Come Dancing.

Rachel is also a strong supporter of anti-racism. She was given a special award, a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE), in 2023. This award was for her important work in teaching people about the Holocaust and raising awareness about antisemitism.

Early Life and Education

Rachel Riley was born in Rochford, England. Her mother is Jewish, and her family came to England from Tsarist Russia a long time ago. Rachel grew up in Thorpe Bay in Southend-on-Sea.

She went to Thorpe Hall School and Southend High School for Girls. She did very well in her A-Level exams. After school, she studied applied maths at Oriel College, Oxford, where she earned a degree.

During her university holidays, Rachel thought about working in finance. She even did an internship at Deutsche Bank in London. However, she found the fast-paced world of banking wasn't for her.

Television Career Highlights

Joining Countdown

Rachel Riley became famous when she joined Countdown. She took over from Carol Vorderman, who had been on the show for a long time. Rachel's job is to put the letters and numbers 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 the new main host, Jeff Stelling. They started together in January 2009. Rachel's mother encouraged her to apply because she was good at maths. Rachel beat 1,000 other people to get the job! She said she was "thrilled" to get the "only cool maths job around." Since 2012, Rachel has also been on 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. This is a funny version of the show with comedian Jimmy Carr as the host.

Dancing on Strictly Come Dancing

In September 2013, Rachel joined the TV show Strictly Come Dancing. She danced with professional dancer Pasha Kovalev, who later became her husband. Rachel was eliminated in week six of the show.

Rachel said she wasn't a natural dancer. She tried to act like a character for each dance. For the first few weeks, she felt very nervous on stage. After getting some help, she was able to relax and enjoy her final performance.

Other TV Shows

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

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

Personal Life

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

Rachel and Pasha have two daughters. Their first daughter was born on 15 December 2019. Their second daughter was born on 5 November 2021.

Rachel is a big fan of Manchester United football club, just like her father. In 2010, she presented a show on the club's TV channel MUTV. To celebrate her 1,000th episode of Countdown in 2013, Manchester United player Ryan Giggs gave her a signed team shirt. Rachel also appeared on the quiz show Celebrity Mastermind in 2012. Her special subject was the history of Manchester United.

Since 2016, Rachel has worked with Grassroot Soccer. This organization uses football to help young people learn important health information. Rachel is a Global Ambassador for them.

In 2018, Rachel and her husband became vegan. Rachel is Jewish.

Advocacy and Recognition

Rachel Riley has spoken out against antisemitism. She has worked to raise awareness about this issue.

In 2021, Rachel was awarded £10,000 in damages by a High Court judge. This was after she sued Laura Murray, an aide of Jeremy Corbyn, over comments made on Twitter. In 2022, Rachel was awarded £50,000 in damages after a libel action against a blogger named Michael Sivier.

Rachel was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2023 New Year Honours. This award was for her important work in Holocaust education and raising awareness about antisemitism.

In March 2024, Rachel encouraged Jewish students to be brave in speaking out against antisemitism.

Other Activities

Rachel often visits schools to share her love for maths. She talks to students about the "joys of applied maths, quantum mechanics and time travel."

In October 2021, Rachel published her first book. It is called At Sixes and Sevens: How to Understand Numbers and Make Maths Easy.

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 work in Holocaust education and raising awareness about antisemitism.