Rachel Riley sorry as Countdown star says ‘just to clarify’ in statement after outraged fans complain to Channel 4

Channel 4 Countdown star Rachel Riley has posted a long statement tonight with an apology after she sparked outrage with a tweet about stabbing in Australia.

Maths whiz Rachel, who also stars on Jimmy Carr’s 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown spinoff, had on Saturday tweeted about an attack in Australia, which had sparked outrage from some and led to her name trending on Twitter (now called X).

Fans had been tweeting the Channel 4 complaints number to try to encourage others to lodge a complaint after Rachel, 38, appeared to link the stabbing in a shopping mall in Sydney to a Palestinian uprising.

Rachel tweeted a message to clarify the earlier tweet, which now appears to have been deleted.

In the clarification, she said sorry as she said: “Just to clarify, my intention with this tweet was not to say this attack was caused by any ideation or to link it to Islamic extremism.

“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.

“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.

“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.”

The previous tweet had sparked anger from fans including @janemarieellio1 who said; “Sponsor Let’s demand that Channel 4 Replace Rachel Riley on Countdown”

@munchpudding had said before the apology: “@Channel4 Do you think Rachel Riley’s tweet yesterday was acceptable as an employee of channel 4? Even if her words, based on unfounded assumptions, were said in the heat of the moment, she has not apologised now further information has emerged.”