Rachel Riley talks Countdown, family and sustainability (Picture:: Instagram / PA / Channel 4)
Rachel Riley has more fun on Countdown behind the scenes than we see on our TV screens.
The media star and maths whiz has been the face of Countdown since replacing Carol Vorderman in 2009, and in the more-than-a-decade since has certainly put her stamp on the show.
And while Countdown is an interesting, educational show that helps your vocabulary and trains your brain, for many of us, the best part is when a rude word comes up.
But we’re not alone – it’s one of Rachel’s favourite parts, too.
The star sat down with Metro.co.uk while working with Hello Hydrogen to promote hydrogen as an energy source for UK homes, where she chatted about everything from work, family, sustainability, her MBE – and the rudest words she’s seen on Countdown.
Asked if she remembers the first rude word she got on the show – and if she hopes for them to make an appearance – she instantly agreed: ‘Oh, yeah!’
Rachel has been on the programme since taking over from Carol Vorderman in 2009 (Picture: Channel 4)
The maths whiz loves seeing rude words come up on the board (Picture: Ryan O’Donoghue)
‘I still remember some of my first words. I think I got “erection,” and that was the winning word! Everyone else had missed it and I was like, “Well, this is an eight.” And “horniest,” that was one of my first ones,’ she recalled
And far from becoming uncomfortable or red-faced when a rude word comes up, Rachel actually encourages them – and announces words that are too explicit to even make it on TV.
She admitted she tries to ‘put off’ colleague Colin Murray, who is a broadcasting veteran and well able to keep a straight face.
‘He’s used to broadcasting so I could have a rude word just to put him off,’ she laughed.
‘I know it’s not going to make the edit, I’m just trying to put him off and he’s trying to keep a straight face. I’m putting something horrendous up on the board just for my own amusement really.’
Colin and Rachel have fun with rude words that will never actually air on Countdown (Picture: PA)
Adding that Countdown is a fun place to work, she revealed that Colin is ‘even worse than me’ when it comes to explicit guesses.
‘He’s coming out with stuff that I’ve never heard of and the team has never heard of. I think he’s making things up himself!’
Countdown is absolutely massive across the UK, and popular across all ages – well, almost all, as Rachel admits her children have absolutely no interest in seeing their mum on TV and would rather watch YouTube.
Rachel is mum to three-year-old Maven and baby Noa, one, and while still very young they ‘know it’s [Rachel] on there’ when Countdown is on TV, and will respond by crying out: ‘Mama, Mama!’
Rachel and Pasha are parents to two daughters, Maven and Noa (Picture: Instagram/rachelrileyrr)
That, unfortunately, is where the interest ends, despite Rachel admitting she has ‘tried to shove it on and get them to repeat the letters.’
‘Maven does it for a minute and then she’s like “Yeah alright, put some YouTube kids on. I’ve seen this before and I’m not interested in it.”‘
The maths expert has higher hopes her daughters will have more of an interest in their father’s career, with Rachel marrying Russian ballroom dancer Pasha in 2019, years after meeting on Strictly Come Dancing.
She recently described her and her husband ‘putting a pin’ in their romance while their youngest, Noa, is still a baby, but the couple have a romantic night planned once he’s back from filming in Romania – before he jets off on a touring show in November.
Meanwhile, Rachel ‘managed to take the girls away by myself for the first time ever’ recently, saying she ‘needs to get used to life with three’ when Pasha isn’t around – and she felt rightfully proud after managing to get the toddler and baby on to the plane safely without forgetting anything and carrying a lot of things.
She never thought she’d be in the position she’s in – in fact she says her teenage self ‘would have laughed you out of the room’ (‘An Essex girl who liked football and was a bit of a maths geek ended up on Countdown and married to a Russian ballroom dancer?’)
The couple’s children aren’t majorly interested in maths and words – yet (Picture: Backgrid)
But in a serious case of Mum knowsbest, she revealed her mother asked her, while she was doing a maths degree, ‘Are you going to be Carol Vorderman then?’
‘And I was like, “What an idiot,”‘ Rachel laughs now, being very much Carol Vorderman.
Rachel is also using her spotlight to help inspire young people to get involved in Stem, as well as fight against anti-Jewish discrimination – which she was awarded an MBE for this year.
And while she’s naturally proud of this fact, and looking forward to bringing her parents and husband to the ceremony, she admitted she feels ‘so many people do so much more than I do.’
‘Because you’re in the public eye, you don’t have to do as much to get as much attention,’ she explained.
‘So many people have dedicated their whole lives to fighting discrimination, protecting people and keeping them safe – looking after Holocaust survivors and sharing their stories, [they] don’t necessarily get that recognition because they’re doing it quietly.’
She recalled being at an event where other people being honoured were Holocaust survivors, and it made her think ‘What am I here for?’ feeling what she has done ‘pales in comparison.’
But she sees her impact in real life, recalling how just recently she attended an event for Jewish Women’s Aid and was approached by a woman who thanked her for supporting her son, who was being bullied on social media.
Rachel is using her platform in showbusiness to make a difference (Picture: Hello Hydrogen/ Ryan O’Donoghue)
‘It’s really nice when you connect with people online, and then you meet people in real life and see you’ve made a real difference to them,’ Rachel said.
To continue making a difference, Rachel has partnered with Hello Hydrogen, as part of the aim to get the UK to be net zero by 2050.
Already invested in environmental issues, with herself and her family eating vegan and driving an electric car, she’s confident hydrogen as a future energy source ‘is part of the solution going forward.’
‘The same way you have HD-ready TVs, you should get hydrogen-ready boilers in the future,’ she said excitedly.
‘You should be able to use it for energy security and it will create jobs. It contributes significantly to a greener environment.’
Rachel Riley is working with Hello Hydrogen to raise awareness of hydrogen as a future energy source for home heating in the UK. Find out more at www.hellohydrogen.com
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What a team.