Rachel Riley subtly criticized her experience on Strictly Come Dancing while reflecting on her time on the show. She participated in the eleventh season of the competition in 2013, partnered with professional dancer Pasha Kovalev. Unfortunately, she was eliminated as the fifth celebrity of the series, with model Abbey Clancy ultimately winning the Glitterball Trophy.
Following the show’s conclusion, Rachel revealed her relationship with Pasha and the couple tied the knot in June 2019. They have since welcomed daughters Maven and Noa into their family. Despite being on Strictly and marrying a dancer, Rachel admitted that she did not really learn to dance during her time on the show.
Rachel mentioned that her schedule during Strictly was hectic, balancing time between her home in Essex, her commitments on Countdown in Manchester, and her work on The Gadget Show in Birmingham. She emphasized that the tight timeline on the show didn’t leave much room for actual dance training.
Since 2009, Rachel has been a familiar face on Countdown, taking over as the math expert after completing her studies at the University of Oxford. She considers her role on Countdown as the “only cool maths job around” and continues to host the show alongside Colin Murray on Channel 4.
Pasha made his final appearance on Strictly in 2018, reaching the final with Ashley Roberts. In an interview, he expressed that it was the right time to move on from the show and mentioned the emotional challenge of saying goodbye to each celebrity partner. Pasha humorously noted that his heart was divided among many partners, including Rachel, as part of his Strictly contract.