Countdown's Rachel Riley on naughty words, being a maths geek and keeping fit

 
Hostess: Rachel Riley outside 'The Prosperous Arms' for a Standard Life pub quiz
Emma Powell23 January 2015
The Weekender

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Rachel Riley caught up with Standard Showbiz to talk naughty Countdown words and being "proud to be a maths geek" .

Who would be your dream contestants on Countdown?

I am a Man U fan so I would like to invite Ryan Giggs. I think he would be quite competitive. I would put him against Victoria Coren – she is a great poker player, so should be good with numbers – and Susie [Dent] and I love her. We keep begging her to come on the show.

Do you ever find it hard to keep composed if you start revealing a naughty word?

Yes. That is the magic of the edit. There are often words that I know are going to be screen grabbed and sent to me afterwards. There was one time the word erection came up and I retweeted a photo which was then retweeted more than 2,000 times!

You have a master’s degree in applied maths from Oxford - do you feel any pressure, or have you faced any discrimination as a woman working in an area that is typically quite male dominated?

No. At Oxford there were six on my course studying maths. I was the only girl and the guys were great. A guy Luke was always the teas maid. There was never an issue.

At work: Rachel on the set of Countdown (Picture: Channel 4/PA Wire)

Do you think you have a part to play in encouraging children – in particular girls – to consider maths-related careers?

Definitely. I feel a responsibility being on TV that I have a platform to speak out about being proud to be a maths geek. It can be a badge of honour in the UK to say you are bad at maths where you wouldn’t proudly say I cannot read or write. I want to stop that culture and tell kids that it can be cool to be a maths geek.

If you weren’t working on Countdown, what do you think you would be doing?

I got a job as an analyst for an online company in the City, so I would probably be doing something with numbers?

You took part in Strictly Come Dancing which requires a lot of training – is there anything in particular that you enjoy doing to keep in shape?

I like doing Zumba. Off the back of Strictly I found out I really enjoy dancing and it’s a really great way to stay toned and have fun at the same time. I love cycling around London too.

Counting the units: Rachel Riley at a Standard Life pub quiz

After Strictly did you ever think about keeping up the dancing?

Yes. I do Zumba as much as I can and drag Pasha [Kovalev] to a salsa whenever he lets me.

Are there any fitness apps you are into?

I used to use a FitBit, but I used it on Strictly and after a whole day of rigorous training it said I was most active when we went for lunch. From wearing that I am more aware of my steps, so I do still take the stairs where I can, even though I don’t wear it. I also like MapMyRide for cycling around the city and keeping track of mileage.

Are there any particular diets that you follow?

I was never interested in sticking to any diet fads to lose a couple of pounds, but I found out that I am intolerant to lots of things. So now, I am very strict and cannot eat Gluten, dairy or eggs. I have lost a little weight because of it. It’s rubbish. I want cake.

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Rachel Riley has teamed up with Standard Life to take over pubs across the country to host a light-hearted pub quiz. Standard Life representatives will be on-hand to help people understand the up-coming pension changes. To register for the next events in Edinburgh and Birmingham visit standardlife.co.uk.

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