Rachel Riley
| Rachel Riley | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | 11 January 1986 Rochford, Essex, England[1] |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | Oriel College, Oxford |
| Occupation | Television presenter |
Rachel Annabelle Riley[2] (born 11 January 1986 in Rochford, Essex)[3] is an English television presenter. Since 12 January 2009 she has been the co-host of Countdown. She replaced Carol Vorderman from the 60th series onwards. Nick Hewer is the chief presenter and Riley does the letters and numbers.[4]
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[edit] Early life and career
Riley was educated at Southend High School for Girls, and went on to study mathematics at Oriel College, Oxford, gaining an upper second-class honours degree, having obtained four grade As at A-Level. [5]
After graduating she began work as a data analyst for a website company in London. She was encouraged to apply for the Countdown position by her mother, a charity fundraiser married to a City auditor, and also by her boyfriend's mother. She did not have an ambition to be a television presenter, but decided to apply because she was interested in the numbers part of the game.[6] Riley was chosen from more than a thousand applicants despite having no television experience. In an article for the BBC news, she stated, "There's only one cool maths job around and I was lucky enough to get it so I'm absolutely thrilled".[7] She began presenting Countdown alongside Jeff Stelling from 12 January 2009. In an interview in August 2009 she revealed that it had been difficult for her to step into Vorderman's shoes, and that she had been criticised by some of Countdown's viewers for getting some of the maths puzzles wrong.[citation needed]
On 26 June 2009, it was reported that Riley had been recruited by the Post Office to employ her mathematical skills to help advise holidaymakers on how to make the most of their holiday currency, after a report by the Post Office revealed that a significant number of holidaymakers fail to calculate the actual cost of goods and services when travelling abroad and often overspend their holiday budget.[8]
Rachel also appeared in The IT Crowd S4 E2 as herself.
[edit] Personal life
Riley is a keen supporter of Manchester United and has been attending games at Old Trafford often with her Salford-born father since about the age of 10,[citation needed] and in October 2010 she presented a programme on MUTV featuring a tour of United's training ground at Carrington. On 4 January 2012 she took part in Celebrity Mastermind, with her topic of choice being Manchester United from 1999.
In 2009 Rachel Riley was ranked #95 in FHM's 100 Sexiest Women poll.[9]
She met her fiance, businessman Jamie Gilbert while they were both studying at Oxford. The couple split after four and a half years together at the end of 2009.[10] However, they later got back together and became engaged after he proposed to her on her 25th birthday on 11 January 2011.[11] She told viewers about the engagement on the 14 February edition of Countdown.
She and her fiance now live in Thorpe Bay, Southend-on-Sea.
[edit] References
- ^ I really love Countdown...trust me,it is not being axed, Evening Echo, 27 July 2001 access date=31 July 2011
- ^ "Names Database". http://namesdatabase.com/people/RILEY/RACHEL%20ANNABELLE/1809930. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
- ^ The 2011-01-11 edition of the show mentioned that that day was her 25th birthday.
- ^ "Essex girl (and fresh Oxford graduate), 22, replaced Carol Vorderman on Countdown". Mail Online. 22 November 2008. http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1088245/Essex-girl-fresh-Oxford-graduate--22-replaces-Carol-Vorderman-Countdown.html. Retrieved 22 November 2008.
- ^ "New hosts Jeff Stelling and Rachel Riley Debut on Countdown". The Tart. 16 January 2009. http://www.thetartpaper.com/articles/view/537. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
- ^ Hardy, Rebecca (29 August 2009). "I didn't count on this abuse: Rachel Riley on why being Carol Vorderman's replacement adds up to a whole lot of grief". Mail Online. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1209425/I-didnt-count-abuse-Rachel-Riley-Carol-Vordermans-replacement-adds-lot-grief.html. Retrieved 11 September 2009.
- ^ "Sky host Stelling joins Countdown". BBC News (entertainment section). 21 November 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7675710.stm. Retrieved 22 November 2008.
- ^ Lander, Sebastian (26 June 2009). "Rachel Riley's currency countdown as Britons lose £288m a year over poor maths". Mail Online. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-1195536/Rachel-Rileys-currency-countdown-Britons-lose-288m-year-poor-maths.html. Retrieved 11 July 2009.
- ^ "Rachel Riley at". Fhm.com. http://www.fhm.com/girls/covergirls/rachel-riley. Retrieved 2011-12-30.
- ^ Todd, Ben (1 January 2010). "Countdown's Rachel Riley is single after splitting with boyfriend of four years". Mail Online. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1239646/Countdowns-Rachel-Riley-single-splitting-boyfriend-years.html. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
- ^ "Rachel Riley begins the Countdown to her big day after getting engaged to millionaire boyfriend". Mail Online (Associated Newspapers Ltd). 25 January 2011. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1350335/Countdown-presenter-Rachel-Riley-gets-engaged-millionaire-boyfriend.html. Retrieved 14 February 2011.
[edit] External links
- Rachel Riley at KBJ Management
- Rachel Riley at the Internet Movie Database
- Holmwood, Leigh (21 November 2008). "Guardian article on Riley's appointment". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/nov/21/channel4-television-countdown-jeff-stelling/. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
- Matthew Moore (21 November 2008). "Oxford maths graduate replaces Carol Vorderman on Countdown". London: Telegraph.co.uk. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/3497300/Oxford-maths-graduate-replaces-Carol-Vorderman-on-Countdown.html. Retrieved 26 March 2009.
| Preceded by Carol Vorderman |
Co-host of Countdown 2009- |
Succeeded by incumbent |
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