Countdown's Rachel Riley admits making gaffe when meeting King Charles for MBE
Rachel Riley has revealed how King Charles told her he is “intent on tackling hate crimes” - and why she wants to rack up 20 years as co-presenter of Countdown.
TV star Rachel, 37, received an MBE for services to Holocaust Education and her work in raising awareness of the Holocaust and combating antisemitism.
On picking up her award earlier this month alongside her husband, she said: “It was a really special and surreal day! Pasha and my parents came with me so we all set off together for Windsor Castle not knowing who would be doing the investiture, but it was a privilege to be awarded it by the King.
She joined Countdown in 2009 and wants to make 20 years on the show (Ryan O'Donoghue Photographer)
Rachel was made an MBE by King Charles (PA)“I think my nerves made me rabbit on when King Charles asked interested questions on why I’d received it and my experiences. He said he’s intent on doing more to tackle hate crimes of all descriptions and he gave encouragement for continuing this work. When it was time to shake his hand I couldn’t remember the protocol of when to courtesy and how to leave so I curtseyed and ran!
“Every single person at Windsor castle makes you feel special and welcome and it was lovely meeting and chatting to the other recipients and finding out about their work. We went for a special lunch at The Ivy overlooking the castle afterwards and had a cocktail or two to celebrate.”
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Rachel has battled antisemitism on platforms like Twitter in recent years, having become a familiar face on screen since joining Countdown in 2009. Being a numbers expert she estimates she has made something like 3,500 shows now but she thinks her start on screen was made easier as social media didn’t really exist back then.
She said: “I think I’ll always be the new girl but what’s funny to me now is that our last series champion, Ronan Higginson, is only 17 so would have come to the show in my era, which is kind of bonkers!
“I’ll always be relieved that social media wasn’t around when I first got my job as the team could shield me from any comments I didn’t need to hear while I found my feet and worked out how to improve. I wouldn’t envy anyone coming into the industry now with so many instant, throwaway comments right under your nose in real time.
“I think getting older and also having kids means that you’re too tired to worry about the little things which makes it easier to see the big picture – you don’t pick apart small details of what you say or how you said it which you might have felt self-conscious about at the time. I’m still a numbers geek as I was on day one, so as long as I’m getting the numbers games I’m happy.“
On the possibility of still being there in 2029 which will be 20 years on the job she added: “I’d love to stay on Countdown as long as they’ll have me.
Rachel is a mum to Maven and Noah, who she shares with Pasha Kovalev (PA)“The star of the show is and always has been the letters and numbers, and with Colin the viewing figures are up - some people are tuning in again after a number of years, others are just joining us now and I think the 8/10 Cats spin-off version has also brought in a new audience. What’s lovely is that we get parents who used to watch the show with their grandparents, now introducing their own kids to letters and numbers through our show. When I get a video sent to me on social media of a toddler playing along at home I jokingly think I’d better watch my back in 20 years as they’ll be after my job!”
Looking ahead Rachel also said now her two children - Maven and Noa - are growing up with the youngest going to preschool at the end of the year, she will be open to other TV jobs and media work. She would love to appear on BBC ’s Who Do You Think You Are? as well as making new “fun maths and science programmes”.
At the moment she is promoting the idea of switching the gas we use to heat our homes away from natural gas - which is contributing to CO2 emissions and climate change - to hydrogen with a group of firms and energy suppliers who have formed the brand Hello Hydrogen.
Asked how worried she was about the future of the planet, she said: “I think most people worry about the future with respect to climate change, especially in relation to thinking about our kids and their futures and future families.
"It’s something that comes up in conversation with my girlfriends over dinner as well, with some of their friends working directly in this field in policy or with scientists. They say that knowing in too much detail what has been predicted has created a need for a new type of therapy for those who are completely immersed in it and feel helpless.
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"It feels like such a large-scale problem that we need our leaders to prioritise it, but with elections every few years and climate change policies not necessarily winning votes I wish it could be dealt with in a different way – it’s largely going to be big group changes that will make a difference so I think we need cross party cooperation and long term strategy in order to effect big change.
"It’s a hard topic to think about as an individual as you feel so powerless against this enormous problem. As a household we switched to an electric car last year and we’re all vegan which is a big bonus for the planet, although for whatever reason it doesn’t get talked about from a climate change point of view as much as I think it should.”
Rachel Riley is currently working with Hello Hydrogen to get the conversation started about the future of home heating in the UK. Find out more here.
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