
Rachel Riley, a Countdown fan, is overjoyed that Colin Murray has taken over as host of the Channel 4 letters and numbers game, and thinks that viewership has increased since his arrival.
It was announced last week that the radio and television host would take over the show on a permanent basis after stepping in when Anne Robinson resigned in the summer.
While Colin previously characterised obtaining the exciting role as a “career dream,” co-star Rachel is equally ecstatic to have the “friendly” host at her side.
‘Colin is an absolute Countdown geek, he loves it,’ Rachel enthused in an exclusive chat with Metro.co.uk. ‘Sometimes he gets too distracted playing the game to host the show, which is so nice.
‘Just to have someone who enjoys their job and wants to be there and please everybody, never mind me, but Susie Dent in dictionary corner and the crew, it’s a really happy ship.


The ‘most important thing,’ she says, is that Countdown viewers love Colin.
‘The viewing figures have gone multiple times what they were,’ she claimed.
‘We’re in the Champions of Champions series at the moment and the response we’ve had from viewers is that they’re just so happy that he’s there and they’re really enjoying the show. That’s why we make it, isn’t it?’
Rachel has been a long-time fan of the show and would often watch it after school. She adores the family friend series and recognises that its cult following is one of the things that makes it so unique.

‘It’s not your typical TV show, people don’t have a personality test to get on, they just pass the basic Countdown test, and they can come on,’ she continued.
‘[The players] are playing to win a teapot, they’re not playing for loads of money. It’s a really friendly show, so to have a really friendly presenter the response just speaks for itself.’
And luckily for us, Rachel has no plans to leave Countdown anytime soon. ‘I love it,’ she said with a smile. ‘It’s great.’
Aside from Countdown, Rachel recently collaborated with Motorway to develop the new Automobile Value Tracker, a technology that allows users to track the value of their car and eventually choose the optimum time to sell.
‘It’s a really interesting time in the market because used cars are actually increasing in value at certain times,’ she enthused.
‘We actually sold our car, a 10-year-old diesel last year,’ she adds. ‘Motorway’s tracker tells you how much your car is worth over the last 24 months, and you can see when a good time would be to sell it.’
Rachel sold her car and now drives an electric vehicle, which she brands ‘way more convenient’.
‘We just plug it in at home and you can drive as much as you want locally and then just plug it in at home again.
‘When I travel up to Manchester from London for Countdown, I usually have the baby with me, and when I need to charge, it’s voice-activated so it tells you.’ Sounds totally hassle-free if you ask us.
Rachel Riley MBE is working with used-car marketplace Motorway.co.uk as it launches its new Car Value Tracker tool, helping the nation to track the value of their vehicle and understand the best time to sell.