When is Rachel Riley's baby due and who will replace her on Countdown?

Rachel Riley
(Image credit: Getty)

When is Rachel Riley's baby due and who will replace her on Countdown? Here's all you need to know as she heads off on maternity leave.

Countdown co-presenter Rachel Riley is pregnant with her second child and fans have noticed that it can't be long until she welcomes her little one.

The TV star is expecting her second child with her Strictly professional dancer husband Pasha Kovalev. The couple are already parents to Maven Aria, who is nearly two.

The couple married in Las Vegas in June 2019 - a month after announcing her first pregnancy and Rachel previously admitted the stress from online trolls actually stopped her baby from moving in the womb.

But if you're wondering when the star is due to give birth to baby number two we can tell you all you need to know...

When is Rachel Riley's baby due?

Rachel Riley's second baby was due in October. But her baby was more than 10 days late, and she arrived on 5th of November.

Rachel confirmed her baby's arrival and tweeted, “Pasha’s newest dance partner – baby Noa was finally born, 15 days after her due date, late on Friday night to the sound of fireworks!”

"She’s totally adorable and her big sister Maven has already tried welcoming her to the world by offering Oatly and pickles, we think that’s a good sign. 😆💕,”

The Countdown co-host announced her pregnancy news back in April. But it was actually Pasha who revealed the month that the baby is due to be born. He told OK! "We wanted baby number two. So, we're looking forward to welcoming them into this world, sometime in October.”

Rachel Riley and Pasha Kovalev

October is a very exciting month for Rachel as not only is she expecting her second child to arrive, but she is also releasing a new maths book called At Sixes and Sevens. She admitted she wasn't sure which would arrive first - the book or the baby.

During her wait for baby number two Rachel revealed she had a secret miscarriage between both pregnancies.

In sharing the snaps of her bump, she captioned it, 'When, at the end of a successful photo shoot for the cover of my new maths book #atsixesandsevens, the fabulous @rayburmiston asked if I wanted a quick bump shot the answer was hell yeah! 5 minutes extra and pics to treasure forever - thanks Ray 😍 Not sure which will be out first between the book and the baby but the book’s release date is 28th October and both are cooking nicely ☺️👶🏼📚'

A photo posted by on

Who will replace Rachel Riley on Countdown?

Rachel Riley has been replaced on Countdown by Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE. She is an arithmetician on Countdown. She took part in a special episode, as part of Channel 4's "Black to Front" day.

Rachel announced last month that she was going on maternity leave. She tweeted a farewell snap and captioned the post, ‘Well that’s it from me, I’ve officially finished filming to pop a baby out!’ 

But fans will still see Rachel on-screen until December as many shows have been pre-recorded.

She explained, ‘You’re stuck with me on screen till December when the totally amazing @notyouraverageami will be keeping the numbers in line till I’m back next year! 

‘Hope you have loads of fun Anne-Marie, best of luck lovely!’ 

She just celebrated reaching the 3,000 episode milestone and was surprised with a little visitor on set - her daughter Maven Aria, aged one, was brought into the studio with her husband Pasha.

She captioned the snaps, 'Hit the mega milestone of 3,000 Countdown shows today and was surprised by these gorgeous special guests presenting me with flowers 🥰💐 One of them was less than happy when it was time to go 😆 Thanks Countdown family, loved it! ❤️ And a little shout out to the other @rachelrileyuk for Mave’s gorgeous dress, Daddy did well getting her ready for her close up! ☺️ #gifted #anniversary #countdown #3000andcounting'

A photo posted by on

The number-crunching star was replaced on Friday 10th September by Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE for a 'Black to Front' TV special of Countdown.

Dr. Imafidon tweeted, 'The #Countdown to Friday's #BlackToFront special is on! I'm filling the shoes of @RachelRileyRR (& @carolvorders) alongside Sir Trevor McDonald, @lemnsissay and @TVMarv at 2.10pm on @Channel4 *this Friday 10th Sept* #C4Blackandproud'

Rachel tweeted her delight at the choice. She said, 'Whoop whoop! Perfect person for the job!'

Until her maternity leave comes around, Rachel has been inundated with fans sharing their favourite naughty words, like the one pictured below...

Not long left until Rachel can put up her feet and watch Countdown at home instead.

Countdown airs on Channel 4 at 2.10pm every weekday. It's also available to stream on All4

Selina Maycock
Senior Family Writer

Selina is a Senior Family Writer for GoodtoKnow and has more than 16 years years of experience. She specialises in royal family news, including the latest activities of Prince George, Charlotte, Louis, Archie and Lilibet. She also covers the latest government, health and charity advice for families. Selina graduated from the University of Sheffield in 2006 with a degree in Journalism, and gained her NCTJ and NCE qualifications. During her career, she’s also written for Woman, Woman's Own, Woman&Home, and Woman's Weekly as well as Heat magazine, Bang Showbiz - and the Scunthorpe Telegraph. When she's not covering family news, you can find her exploring new countryside walking routes, catching up with friends over good food, or making memories (including award-winning scarecrows!)