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Rachel Annabelle Riley (born 11 January 1986) is an English television presenter. She co-presents the Channel 4 daytime puzzle show Countdown and its comedy spin-off 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. She is a mathematics graduate.
Her television debut came when she joined Countdown aged 22. With an interest in popularising mathematics and the sciences, she has since co-presented The Gadget Show on Channel 5 (2013–14) and It's Not Rocket Science on ITV (2016). She was also a contestant on the BBC celebrity dance show Strictly Come Dancing in 2013.
As an anti-racism campaigner, she was appointed a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2023 New Year Honours for services to Holocaust education and antisemitism awareness.
During a university holiday, Riley considered a career in the financial sector and completed an internship at Deutsche Bank in the City of London. The experience put her off: she found the extreme behaviour of City traders wearing, and she disliked the early-morning train commute.
Riley is a keen supporter of Manchester United, like her father, who was originally from Salford; in October 2010, Riley presented a programme on the club's television channel MUTV which featured a tour of their Trafford Training Centre in Carrington. She has also hosted episodes of An Audience with... on the channel. To mark her 1,000th episode of Countdown (aired on 25 June 2013), United player Ryan Giggs presented her with a signed team shirt, Giggs himself having celebrated his 1,000th game for the club the same year. In her appearance as a contestant on the BBC quiz show Celebrity Mastermind, broadcast on 4 January 2012, her specialist subject was a limited (13-year) history of the club; she eventually finished in joint second place.
Since 2016, Riley has worked with Grassroot Soccer, a global adolescent health organisation that leverages the power of football to equip young people with the life-saving information, services, and mentorship they need to live healthier lives. Riley is a Global Ambassador for the organisation and a member of its UK Board of Directors.
In 2017, Riley was the co-winner with Idris Elba of the Rear of the Year award. She and her husband became vegan in 2018. She is Jews.
In February 2019, according to The Times and i, Riley had been involved in talks to set up a centrist breakaway party from Labour. According to Jewish News in April 2019, Riley backed the Stop Funding Fake News campaign. In November 2019, Riley posted an image on Twitter of herself wearing a shirt with an edited image of Corbyn carrying a sign bearing the caption "Jeremy Corbyn is a racist endeavour". The tweet was condemned by some for erasing the struggle against the apartheid regime in South Africa, the original subject of the sign, to make a political point, with some users calling for Riley to be fired. The professional photographer who took the original shot, Rob Scott, also declared his displeasure, claiming she had "illegally manipulated and printed" the picture to "cynically promote her agenda", adding: "I am appalled by the abuse of property, moral rights and change of anti-racist message to anti-Corbyn one."
In February 2019, Riley and fellow campaigner Tracy-Ann Oberman instructed a lawyer to take action against 70 individuals who had posted tweets which Riley and Oberman regarded as either libellous or harassment. As a result, Riley and Oberman sued one person who had retweeted a link to an article which had accused Oberman and Riley of harassing a young Labour activist who had commented on antisemitism in the Labour Party. In May 2019, a High Court judge ruled that the article that was linked in the tweet was defamatory. In July 2020, Riley and Oberman dropped their joint libel suit and contributed towards the defendant's legal costs.
In 2021, Riley was awarded £10,000 damages by a High Court judge after suing Laura Murray, then an aide of Corbyn, over comments made on Twitter that included "This woman Riley is as dangerous as she is stupid." On 16 November 2022, Riley was awarded £50,000 in damages after a libel action against Michael Sivier, a blogger who had accused Riley of abusing a teenager during a 2019 Twitter discussion. Sivier had previously been found liable for three of the four claims against him before the Court of Appeal of England and Wales ordered a review of the exclusion of a public interest defense. The High Court's subsequent decision reaffirmed the judgment against Sivier and the damages awarded to Riley.
Riley was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2023 New Year Honours for services to Holocaust education and antisemitism awareness.
In March 2024, Riley appeared on a panel the Swipe-Up Rise-Up conference to call on Jewish students to "be courageous" in calling out antisemitism.
In April 2024, during the Gaza war, Riley accused Apple of antisemitism when an iPhone update displayed the Palestinian flag as a suggested emoji when users type in the word "Jerusalem". After the 2024 Bondi Junction stabbings, and before the facts of the incident emerged, Riley linked the attack to support for Palestine and the "global intifada", stating: "If you want to know what 'globalise the intifada' looks like, see the Sydney mall." The post was "heavily accused of perpetuating Islamophobia". Riley subsequently deleted her post and said she was "sorry if this message was misunderstood". Riley stated that her comments were not meant to imply a link to Islamic extremism. The perpetrator was later identified as Joel Cauchi, a 40-year-old mentally ill man from Toowoomba. Channel 4 stated: "We have reminded Rachel of her obligations as a contributor to Channel 4 programming."
| 2009–present | Countdown | Channel 4 | Co-presenter | With Jeff Stelling (2009–2011), Nick Hewer (2012–2021), Anne Robinson (2021–2022) and Colin Murray (2022–present) |
| 2010 | The IT Crowd | Herself | Cameo as herself on Countdown | |
| 2012–present | 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown | Co-presenter | With Jimmy Carr | |
| 2013–2014 | The Gadget Show | Channel 5 | Co-presenter | With Jason Bradbury |
| 2013 | Strictly Come Dancing | BBC One | Participant | 5th celebrity to be eliminated |
| 2014 | Memory Slam | Watch | Presenter | |
| 2016 | It's Not Rocket Science | ITV | Co-presenter | With Ben Miller and Romesh Ranganathan |
| 2016–2017 | Friday Night Football | Sky Sports | Co-presenter | With Jeff Stelling |
| Fantasy Football Club | Co-presenter | With Max Rushden and Paul Merson | ||
| 2019 | Celebrity Countdown | More4 | Co-presenter | With Nick Hewer |
| 2025 | Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters | ITV1 | Contestant | Upcoming reality show |
She has also made brief appearances in Dispatches, Britain's Brightest and 1001 Things You Should Know.
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