Who is Dr Tom Crawford? Rachel Riley’s Countdown replacement revealed
Countdown's going to look a little different.
Maths expert and TV presenter Rachel Riley is set to take a ‘short break’ from Countdown – with Dr. Tom Crawford stepping in as her replacement.
Rachel, 39, joined the afternoon puzzle show in 2009 and has worked under four different presenters since her first appearance 16 years ago.
However, the long-time co-presenter, who now hosts alongside Colin Murray and Susie Dent, will be taking some time off from the Channel 4 series.
It’s been reported that Rachel will be ‘working on another project’ while Dr. Tom fills in.
This marks the first big shake-up of the Countdown presenting team for three years, when Colin Murray took over from Anne Robinson in 2022.
Who’s the man set to be replacing Rachel in the Countdown studio?
Who is Dr Tom Crawford? Dr Tom will replace Rachel Riley for three weeks (Picture: Channel 4/PA Wire)Dr Tom Crawford is well-known for his YouTube account Tom Rocks Maths, where he has more than 200,000 subscribers, with some of his videos clocking up millions of views.
His accessible YouTube videos feature him making ‘elite mathematics teaching available to everyone’ and also advise people on the best ways to pass maths exams.
Dr Tom is also a lecturer in Applied Mathematics at Cambridge’s Robinson College after graduating from Oxford University, and, according to his official website, has 15 maths-themed tattoos.
To prepare for his stint on Countdown, which is set to last until the end of March, he spent time alongside Rachel Riley in the studio, learning the ropes.
