Shropshire Star

Countdown star Rachel Riley announces surprise baby news

The presenter shared a ‘teatime teaser’ on her social media accounts.

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Rachel Riley and Pasha Kovalev

Rachel Riley is pregnant with her second child with professional dancer husband Pasha Kovalev.

The 35-year-old Countdown star announced the news by sharing a photo of herself standing in front of the show’s famous letter board holding her hands over her baby bump.

She wrote: “A special teatime teaser!

“And your clue is… Riley had this to thank for the reason her clothes no longer fit her… And it’ll only get worse till Autumn!

“Happy, happy days for our little family @pashakovalev and future big sister Mave.”

The board featured the letters “FITTRILEY” in an apparent clue relating to her pregnancy.

Riley and Kovalev met on Strictly Come Dancing in 2013, and married in Las Vegas in 2019.

The couple already have a daughter, Maven, who was born in December the same year.

Riley announced her first pregnancy in a similar manner, sharing a photo of herself on the set of the Channel 4 game show, with the letters on the board spelling out “R TINY MATE”.

She wrote: “Pash and I have a conundrum for you… you have till December to work it out!

“We’re over the moon excited.”

The presenter started dating Kovalev after splitting from her husband, fellow Oxford University student Jamie Gilbert, in 2013.

Kovalev announced he was leaving Strictly following the 2018 series, after eight years on the show.

Fans of the couple were quick to send their congratulations in messages underneath the post.

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