Rachel Riley in four-word warning to celebs considering Strictly stint after PTSD battle

Countdown presenter Rachel Riley has said she tries to help fellow stars understand the truth about what it’s really like to appear on the hit BBC show.

Rachel Riley, the self-proclaimed “maths geek” and Countdown star, has opened up about her Strictly Come Dancing experience on the High Performance Woman Podcast.

She revealed that she often gets asked for advice by famous peers considering taking part in the dance competition, and doesn’t shy away from giving them a candid take.

The presenter shared: “I don’t tell people to go into it lightly. People say ‘I’ve been offered this, and should I do it?’ On a few occasions, I’m quite honest when I say ‘It’s not all golden’.”

She also shared how her then-dance partner, now-husband Pasha Kovalev, suggested she see a therapist to handle the show’s stress: “When I was on Strictly. I got stage fright I hadn’t had it before but it was like an out-of-body experience.”  Riley’s perfectionism was pinpointed as the cause of her anxiety, which was exacerbated by the live show’s demands.

She explained: “I’d never danced a step before in my life, and it was absolutely terrifying you go in on Sunday to do a new dance and on Saturday you’re dancing in front of 10million people.”

Her therapist recommended breathing exercises, which she employed during her last performance on Strictly, leading to a memorable exit: “I got two eights the week I was voted out,” she recalls, beating her own goal of getting eight points from one judge, reports the Mirror.

Rachel also opened up about her Strictly “PTSD,” expressing relief that social media wasn’t as prevalent when she competed back in 2013.

Now, a decade later, the television personality believes contestants face a tougher challenge due to the intensity of online scrutiny.