Their frosty relationship was one of the worst kept secrets in television. And now Rachel Riley has herself acknowledged a feud with former Countdown host Anne Robinson, saying the presenter ‘might make you cry.’ 

Previously the maths whizz had said of Ms Robinson that she is ‘not the cuddliest,’ but now discussing how the atmosphere on the Channel 4 programme has become much more fun since she was replaced by Colin Murray, Ms Riley said in an interview: ‘It’s very different. 

Each presenter has their own style, and you don’t always gel with everybody that you work with. 

‘Well, you’re not going to get a sympathetic shoulder to cry on from Anne, but she might make you cry.’ 

The feud rumours have been long standing and were further fuelled in May when Ms Riley, 37, took to Instagram to share a selfie smiling to the camera, while holding a glass of wine after Robinson’s departure was announced. 

‘Drinking a toast to the next chapter in Countdown history. I think you’re going to like it,’ she captioned the image. 

Later that month, while appearing on Piers Morgan’s Uncensored, Robinson shared: ‘Susie Dent is great, Rachel Riley is completely brilliant at the maths.’ 

Morgan chimed in: ‘You just didn’t get on with her,’ to which she responded: ‘No, I didn’t not get on with her.’ 

Meanwhile, Ms Riley slammed the ‘blonde Essex girl’ stereotype that she has endured for all of her adult life - including when she was studying maths at Oxford. Speaking to Fabulous magazine, she said: ‘When I was younger, people would be surprised when I said I was studying at Oxford I was known as a “blonde Essex Girl”, but it’s not always a bad thing because you can use it to your advantage and surprise people in a positive way. 

‘It says more about them for having those misconceptions in the first place..’ ‘I think it’s really important to show you can be blonde, wear make-up and whatever clothes you want and also be a mathematician or scientist,’ she added to Fabulous magazine.

 ‘You don’t have to fit an outdated stereotype.’ Ms Riley is married to former Strictly professional dancer Pasha Kovalev and they have two daughters together, Maven, three, and 18-month-old Noa.