Rachel Riley’s ‘fix’ claims are seriously denied by Dance Games bosses

Countdown host Rachel Riley competed on the 2013 version of the show, where she was paired with professional dancer, Pasha Kovalev, whom she began dating after the series

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Seriously: Rachel Riley had a great performance in 2013

The bosses of Seriously Come Dancing have denied that the hugely popular BBC dance show has been corrected following statements from former contestant Rachel Riley.

The Countdown presenter, 36, competed on the 2013 version of the show and she was paired with Pasha Kovalev, whom she began dating after the series following the breakdown of her first marriage to first husband Jamie Gilbert.

In an interview with Sunday Times MagazineRachel alleges that the producers “knew from the start who they wanted to win” and “obviously they could fix the score”.

A BBC spokesman said: “This claim is completely untrue. The BBC has strict procedures and editorial guidelines regarding fairness and takes all of this seriously.”

“I think they know right from the start who they want to win and what journey they want to take the others on, to have the right balance, and they can obviously fix the score,” Rachel said.

“I think the British want an underdog. We want to build someone, not see a good one in the first place – that’s not the focus of these shows.”

Touched by her blossoming relationship with Pasha, 42, with whom she is now married and has two daughters – two-year-old Maven and six-month-old Noa – with Russian professional dancer.

She added: “Are you calling my kids a curse? That’s not true! If you have cracks [Strictly] can expose them. It gives me the distance to do the impending crash anyway. “

Rachel was voted down in week six of the contest and admitted that she suffers from a mild form of post-traumatic stress disorder and needs cognitive behavioral therapy after the show.

“It was a really stressful period. I was insecure about my dancing because your whole self-worth was built around it. And you have such a team mentality, then you’re suddenly dropped. It’s continued but you’ve been put in the bin,” Rachel said.

“And you don’t do the exercise that you’re doing, so you lose all the serotonin… When I do it, it’s the most fun, but in the years that follow it’s just… hard.

“A lot of people end up with some sort of mental deviance from it. Sophie Ellis-Bextor says they need to be a little more attentive to the contestants. I’m glad I’m away from it now.”

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