Rachel Riley “couldn’t remember the protocol” when she received her MBE from King Charles.
Rachel Riley forgot what to do when she got her MBE
The ‘Countdown’ star “ran” as soon she was given her honour - which she was given for her work for services to Holocaust Education - at Windsor Castle, where she was joined by her husband Pasha Kovalev, 43, and her parents Christopher and Celia for the ceremony.
The 37-year-old star told the Daily Mirror newspaper: “It was a really special and surreal day! Pasha and my parents came with me so we all set off together for Windsor Castle not knowing who would be doing the investiture, but it was a privilege to be awarded it by the King.
“I think my nerves made me rabbit on when King Charles asked interested questions on why I’d received it and my experiences. He said he’s intent on doing more to tackle hate crimes of all descriptions and he gave encouragement for continuing this work. When it was time to shake his hand I couldn’t remember the protocol of when to courtesy and how to leave so I curtseyed and ran!”
Rachel - who is Jewish and has been open about her experiences of antisemitism - sang the praises of the ceremony, as she admitted that everyone made her “feel special” on her day.
She said: “Every single person at Windsor Castle makes you feel special and welcome and it was lovely meeting and chatting to the other recipients and finding out about their work. We went for a special lunch at The Ivy overlooking the castle afterwards and had a cocktail or two to celebrate.”
The ex ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ star - who has two daughters Maven, three, Noa, 20 months, with her ex ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ pro dancer husband - confessed she was “relieved that social media wasn’t around” when she first joined the Channel 4 game show in 2009.
Rachel said: “I think I’ll always be the new girl but what’s funny to me now is that our last series champion, Ronan Higginson, is only 17 so would have come to the show in my era, which is kind of bonkers!
“I’ll always be relieved that social media wasn’t around when I first got my job as the team could shield me from any comments I didn’t need to hear while I found my feet and worked out how to improve. I wouldn’t envy anyone coming into the industry now with so many instant, throwaway comments right under your nose in real time.
“I think getting older and also having kids means that you’re too tired to worry about the little things which makes it easier to see the big picture – you don’t pick apart small details of what you say or how you said it which you might have felt self-conscious about at the time. I’m still a numbers geek as I was on day one, so as long as I’m getting the numbers games I’m happy.”
Tagged in Rachel Riley