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EXCLUSIVE: Rachel Riley supporting Emma Willis for Strictly host as she says 'they know who they want'

Countdown favourite Rachel Riley shares her thoughts on the new Strictly hosts, holiday horrors and dance-offs at home with husband Pasha Kovalev

[rachel riley and husband Pasha Kovalev at make a wish ball 2026]

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Rachel Riley spills the beans on life with Pasha, solo parenting and hilarious behind-the-scenes moments(Image: INSTAGRAM/rachelrileyrr)

Rachel Riley is looking a million dollars when the Mirror catch up at the Make-A-Wish charitys annual ball, A Night of Wishes, at Londons swanky Savoy Hotel.

Laughing, the 40-year-old Countdown star says its a far cry from the situation at the same ball last year when her heel broke and she ended up in a side room doing a hasty repair job with a wad of Sellotape.

The maths whizz is on top form as we chat about her telly work, who she thinks the new Strictly Come Dancing hosts should be and her home life with former Strictly pro Pasha Kovalev, who she married in 2019, and their daughters Maven, six, and Noa, four

[rachel riley and brian conley at make a wish ball 2026]

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The Countdown star caught up with showbiz pals like Brian Conley at the Make-A-Wish ball(Image: INSTAGRAM/rachelrileyrr)

[rachel riley in long red dress at make a wish ball 2026]

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Rachel replaced carol Vorderman on Countdown in 2009 - aged just 22(Image: Grant Buchanan/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Make-A-Wish UK)

Hi Rachel! You met the love of your life on Strictly. Whos your money on to become the new hosts?

Oh, I dont know. Your guess is as good as mine. They know who they want, dont they? All the names touted for it would be great. Emma Willis is one, isnt she? I do really enjoy Love Is Blind. She and her husband Matt are brilliant hosting that show. Its definitely my guilty pleasure.

Does Pasha get roped into watching it with you?

Hes like all men he says, No, no, you go ahead. Then hes sitting down on the sofa with me, going, Why is that one screaming at that one? He gets all the updates. I pull him in to watch the cutest or most psychotic bits.

Your two children are still little, but are there any signs they might follow in their parents footsteps?

Ive no idea. I mean, the little ones a total nutter. She has that crazy second child syndrome. They both love dancing. And my big one loves gymnastics shes ridiculously strong. I think she has Pashas genes there. And right now shes saying she wants to become a maths teacher, so theres some of me in there, too.

Do you have any summer holidays booked?

Not yet, but were just back from Tenerife. We got stuck in a Saharan sandstorm. We had three days with the sky totally covered in sand. The kids loved it though it felt like a total adventure for them.

[rachel riley, pasha kovalev and daughters on holiday 2026]

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The TV star shares two daughters with ex-Strictly pro Pasha(Image: rachelrileyrr/Instagram)

[pasha and rachel riley dancing on strictly in 2013]

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Romance blossomed after Rachel did Strictly with Pasha in 2013(Image: PA)

Is it hard solo parenting when Pashas on tour?

Hell be on tour again in the autumn, so hell be rehearsing in the summer holidays. Its a bit more of a juggle when Im filming too, but you just manage, dont you? We go off on playdates left, right and centre. We keep busy.

Does Pasha have dance-offs with your two at home?

Oh yeah, its very cute. I came into the kitchen the other day and my six-year-old was teaching him the dance to that Zara Larsson hit, Lush Life. She kept correcting his moves, it was so funny. Hes a fab dad.

What are you up to TV-wise?

Well, on Countdown weve got the series final coming up in the summer, then we plough on with the next series. And I also do the comedy spin-off, Eight Out Of Ten Cats Does Countdown. Its great its like getting tickets to a private comedy show.

You go into the green room and honestly you could find anything in there, from a snake to a talking parrot, someone dressed as a queen or someone else in a gimp mask. Its hilarious.

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I'm a Celebrity 2011 winner Dougie Poynter recommended the jungle experience(Image: The People)

[chris mccausland with dianne buswell holding strictly glitterball in 2024]

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She says 2024 Strictly champ Chris McCausland is one of her favourite Countdown celebrity guests(Image: PA)

Were you a fan of Countdown before joining the show?

Yeah, I used to come home and watch it after school every day, when the late great Richard Whiteley was still hosting it. Seriously, Ive been a maths geek since forever. I went on to study it at Oxford. Thats why I ended up applying for Countdown.

Whos one of the best celebrity guests youve had?

Chris McCausland, the comedian who of course won Strictly too, is brilliant. Hes really good at the numbers. He cant even see them he has to not only remember the numbers, but then work it all out in his head. Hes incredible, and of course makes us all laugh a lot.

Whats been one of your favourite telly gigs ever?

Honestly? I think it was doing the reality show Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters last year. Its one of the best things Ive ever done. You get asked to do a lot of things, you get calls about this and that and nothing happens as theyre often just ideas that dont end up getting made. But with this one, as soon as I heard about it, I was like yes, yes, yes, Im jumping in the water with some tiger sharks.

[Cast of Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters]

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She admits doing scary show Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters was her top TV moment(Image: ITV)

Youre very brave. Poor Helen George really struggled

She had to be a lot braver than me on that show as she had a massive fear of water as a child. She genuinely had to face a lot of fears to do what she did. But I really loved that show.

Pasha and I love wildlife, so pre-kids, any time we had breaks between filming wed get out into nature. On this show, we got flown to the Bahamas for two weeks, and who knew you could go on a nighttime dive to a shipwreck where Al Capone used to have parties?

Would you do Im A Celebrity, then theres plenty of local wildlife in there?

I mean, never say never. I do love my nature and I met my husband on reality TV. Dougie Poynter was on the shark series with me and hed been in the jungle, and his McFly bandmate Danny Jones was in the jungle while we were filming it, so lots of people have recommended it.

We spoke to Rachel at the Make-A-Wish Night Of Wishes Ball. For more on the charity which helps critically ill children. See make-a-wish.org.uk for more.

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