Meet the author: Countdown maths whizz and At Sixes and Sevens writer, Rachel Riley

Countdown maths whizz Rachel Riley always does her sums, especially when it comes to motherhood.

Oxford graduate Rachel – who met her Russian husband, professional dancer Pasha Kovalev on Strictly Come Dancing in 2013 – is expecting their second child soon, and is planning to go back to work in January.

The 35-year-old and Kovalev, 41, already have daughter Maven – two in December.

But the Manchester United fan reveals she won’t be going for a hat-trick. “We only want two. You can fit two in the car, that kind of stuff. It was a maths decision,” she adds with a laugh.

And she has another number up her sleeve – her book At Sixes And Sevens, a maths aid for adults, with tips and tricks on how to navigate your way through the minefield of equations, formulas, fractions and algebra among other conundrums.

“I’ve always enjoyed making maths accessible and trying to demystify it, even when I was at school,” says the Essex-born presenter.

The face of TV’s Countdown since 2008, when she replaced Carol Vorderman, Riley began dating Kovalev after the break-up of her first marriage to fellow Oxford student Jamie Gilbert.

She and the dancer married in Las Vegas in June 2019 and welcomed baby Maven that year.

She explains: “My friend was taking a sabbatical in the States. She said she was going to Vegas and asked if I wanted to come to see Robbie Williams. We said, great.

“Then, when I was four months pregnant, just before the trip, Pasha said, ‘Shall we get married next week?’ We found a little chapel and I bought my dress the day before the wedding.

“He’s taken to being a dad like a duck to water. And Maven looks just like him. He goes to the soft play, the bouncy castle and the park – then I get home and he’s made dinner!”

As with her firstborn, Riley is planning to have her second baby at home and isn’t intending on going on a massive drive to return to her pre-pregnancy weight quickly.

“I’ll be breastfeeding, so you need the calories,” she says.

“The weight comes off in its own time and I’ve got a whole range of dresses ready in different sizes for when I go back to work.”

She and her family live in London and also have an apartment in Manchester, where Countdown is filmed. Kovalev will look after the children while Riley is working on the show, taking the baby in for breastfeeding when she’s on a break.

With Riley on maternity leave, the Countdown team of Susie Dent and new anchor Anne Robinson are holding the fort in her absence.

Robinson, known for her acerbic put-downs on The Weakest Link, joined the long-running afternoon show in June, replacing host Nick Hewer.

Rumours are rife there are tensions in the team but Riley says simply: “It’s completely different. We used to all be in the same room together but, because of coronavirus, everyone’s off separately having their make-up done so we don’t see each other as much.

“We’ve not really done much team bonding. Obviously, we had 10 years with Nick and we really knew each other. She (Robinson) is a completely different character.”

And fans can count on Riley’s return to the spotlight. She pledges: “Once I’m back on my feet, I’ll be ready for a new challenge!”

Rachel Riley – At Sixes And Sevens, HarperCollins, £14.99