Almost 13 years after joining forces with her now-husband, Strictly Come Dancing star Rachel Riley, the Countdown star made a brutal admission.
Rachel Riley aimed a subtle dig at Strictly Come Dancing as she opened up about her time on the show. The Countdown star appeared on the eleventh series of Strictly in 2013.
Partnered up with professional dancer Pasha Kovalev, she was the fifth celebrity eliminated in the series. It was model Abbey Clancy, partnered with Aljaž Škorjanec who eventually lifted the Glitterball Trophy, beating Susanna Reid and Kevin Clifton.
Shortly after the show finished Rachel announced that she was in a relationship with Pasha. The pair walked down the aisle in June 2019 and have since welcomed daughters Maven and Noa into the world.
Rachel had a critical eye on her own moves despite having married a dancer and appearing on Strictly. When questioned about her ability to dance during a podcast appearance, she responded, “Absolutely not. No, you get better at dancing, but you don’t get better at it because I’ve never been one.
“So you know, that’s why I went into it because you want to learn a skill and it is fun. We have danced, Pasha and I when we go travelling, which we love, we’ve danced in Cannes, we’ve danced in Bali, we’ve danced in LA, Colombia, everywhere you go there’s a salsa club.”
Rachel explained that Rachel split her free time between her home in Essex, her Countdown commitments in Manchester, and her work on The Gadget Show in Birmingham.
You have a week from beginning to end, you have to watch It Takes Two, you have to go through rehearsals, you have to make some kind of filming, and you have to do everything, because I’ve never danced in my life. You then learn how to persevere that week.
Rachel has been a regular on Countdown since 2009, when she took over from Carol Vorderman as the mathematics expert. She recalls being “thrilled” to secure the position shortly after completing her studies at the University of Oxford.
She has since described the Countdown role as the “only cool maths job around”. Rachel returns to television this afternoon (January 16) at 2.10pm presenting Countdown alongside Colin Murray on Channel 4, before appearing on 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown at 9pm on the same channel.
In 2018, Pasha made his final Strictly appearance, beating Ashley Roberts, a former Pussycat Dolls member. Pasha explained in an interview with Heat magazine that it was the “right time” to leave his Strictly journey.
The 45-year-old said, “It was time to move on, and I don’t regret it.” He said saying goodbye to each celebrity partner was the “most difficult thing” about his professional role on the program.
He continued, “Part of your heart stays with that person, and then you have to find more love to give to the next person.”
Source: Mirror
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