Countdown star Rachel Riley ‘worried’ about her numbers skills when she got pregnant
Rachel Riley “worried” about her Maths skills when she got pregnant.
The 37-year-old presenter – who has Maven, two, and Noa, 20 months, with ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ professional Pasha Kovalev – has solved quick sums on the Channel 4 gameshow ‘Countdown’ since 2009 but admitted she was concerned about suffering from the effects of “baby brain” when she was first expecting.
Speaking on the ‘Spinning Plates’ podcast, she told Sophie Ellis-Bextor: “I just need to sort out some sort of regular childcare we don’t have a regular working life. If I knew it was Monday to Friday, I’d be able to sort it out but I need to delve into it and find some proper childcare at some stage. I was a bit worried when I got pregnant because you hear about baby brain and hormones and sleep deprivation but thankfully, the ‘Countdown’ thing is like riding a bike. So thankfully, that’s still there. ”
Rachel – who replaced longstanding presenter Carol Vorderman on the teatime favourite – went on to add that these days she relies on “adrenaline” to get her through the day as she contends with a busy shooting schedule and a teething child.
She added: “You just ride it and get back to it the next day. But we do five shows in a day and then I go home and I’ve got the baby. . Sometimes she’s teething and sometimes you just get a couple of hours [of sleep] and you’re back in the studio. I think the adrenaline keeps you going. I’ve got such a great team around me. “I’m a proper Maths geek, that’s my favourite thing, so sometimes I can’t put sentences together but I can still do the numbers game!”
