Rachel Riley is a co-presenter on Countdown (Picture: Channel 4 / Countdown)
Rachel Riley has faced a backlash after her now-deleted tweet about a horrific incident in Sydney, with odds on her leaving Countdown rising.
The 38-year-old falsely linked the Sydney mall stabbing to ‘globalised Intifada’ after six people were killed in the rampage which was carried out by Joel Cauchi, 40, from Queensland, who police said suffered from mental health problems.
She has since deleted the post and released a statement to say she was ‘sorry if this message was misunderstood’.
Following the incident, Bet Ideas has shared the odds of her leaving the Channel 4 show, which currently stands at 4/6, while she is 6/5 to stay put.
Lee Astley, spokesperson for betideas.com, said: ‘Rachel Riley’s future on Countdown seems to be under increasing threat following her social media post last week and the presenter is odds-on to leave her role on the show.’
Her role in the series, presented by Colin Murray, involves placing the selected consonants and vowels on the board and rearranging them when contestants share the longest words they’ve been able to achieve from the ten letters. During the mathematics round, Riley will reveal how the desired figure can be achieved with the six numbers provided.
The current Countdown team (Picture: PA)
She took over from Carol Vorderman in 2009, who had been in the role since the show’s inception in 1982. Carol stands at odds of 4/1 to return to the programme.
Also, among the favourites are Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon (6/4), who covered Riley’s maternity leave, and Good Morning Britain presenter Susanna Reid (9/1).
Susie Dent currently sits in the dictionary corner and informs the studio of any long words that were missed. She is at 12/1 to swap jobs.
Carol Vorderman on Countdown Copyright: Channel 4
Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon previously filled in for Riley (Picture: Channel 4)
Susanna is at 9/1 (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
Rachel’s original tweet read: ‘For 6 months now, people have been out on our streets proudly calling for the “Intifada Revolution.”
‘If you want to know what “Globalised Intifada” looks like, see the Sydney Mall.
‘5 victims stabbed to death and 8 transferred to hospital, including a baby, due to one man and a knife.
‘In the second intifada over 1,000 Israelis were murdered in restaurants, on buses and in the streets by suicide bombings, stabbings, stoning, lynching, shooting rockets. The youngest victim was just 9 hours old.
‘Sydney Mall, multiple times over is what they’ve been proudly calling for.’
Riley has issued a statement (Picture: Chris Brunskill Ltd/Getty Images)
She deleted the X post, and issued a statement on April 14. Riley said that her ‘intention was not to say this attack was caused by any ideation or to link it to Islamic extremism.’
The former Strictly Come Dancing star continued: ‘At the time we did not know who the attacker was, and as such I made no reference.
‘My aim was to highlight the weekly calls for “intifada” being tolerated in London and around the world, which in actuality means violence on our streets.
‘For 6 months now, I have avoided taking the tube, or going with my kids to anywhere near the marches each Saturday, and each week we see the extremist chants on proud display with little outcry.’
Riley has two children with her husband Pasha Kovalev, whom she met after they were paired together on Strictly.
Riley met her husband on Strictly in 2013 (Picture: PA)
‘Sadly, the type of attack seen in Sydney yesterday is exactly the kind of violence the previous intifada involved and I hope to avoid in future, but in my opinion ignoring the problem won’t make it go away,’ Riley continued.
‘Attacks on Jews have recently become repackaged as “resistance” in some circles, and we should in one voice condemn all acts of violence, whoever the perpetrators and whoever the victims.
‘I am sorry if this message was misunderstood, that was not my intention.’
She later posted a second statement after thinking about it ‘all day’.
‘I’m sorry to those I offended. My post was ambiguous and although it was genuinely designed to call out calls for violence, it wasn’t the right place or time which made it easier to misinterpret, and I apologise,’ she began.
‘I know nuance isn’t popular online, and even though I’m certain many of the people calling this out are the same people who’ve been trying to shut me up or have me fired for the last 6 years, who would happily join in the calls for violence against their enemies, I’m also sure there are those who don’t fall into that camp, and it is to them I write this now.
‘I too have been subject to assault in recent months and it was a Muslim woman and her husband who came to see if I was ok afterwards. I’m grateful to them and wish to undo any offence caused to the community.’
The original tweet sparked mass outrage on social media, with @TocquevilleJnr among those who called her comments racist and demanded her employer, Channel 4, take action.
They wrote: ‘Dear Alex Mahon, CEO of publicly owned @Channel4. Is it right that a regular contributor to your station (Ms Rachel Riley) is IMO so outrageously divisive, hateful & racist ? Based on a complete falsehood.
This person should NOT be a role model on our MSM @krishgm.’
Riley also contributes to the Countdown spin-off, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, which is presented by Jimmy Carr.
When approached for comment about Riley’s remarks, a spokesperson for Channel 4 said: ‘We have reminded Rachel of her obligations as a contributor to Channel 4 programming.’ Metro.co.uk has contacted Channel 4 for further comment.
Betting odds were provided by betideas.com
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