I’m terrified... Countdown star Rachel forced to hire bodyguard
RACHEL RILEY has revealed she’s hired a bodyguard after feeling ‘terrified’ at the hatred projected towards her and the British
Jewish community since Israel’s response to the Hamas terrorist atrocities earlier this month.
The TV presenter was seen last Wednesday leaving Countdown’s studios in Manchester with celebrity protection officer Billy Robinson – who has also looked after the likes of actress Michelle Keegan and Coronation Street star Barbara Knox.
Dressed in jeans and a grey hat, Ms Riley, pictured right, stepped into the bodyguard’s Range Rover parked outside the TV set.
The mother-of-two’s decision to hire Mr Robinson follows firsthand experience in London of people celebrating Hamas’ attack.
Ms Riley, who is married to former Strictly professional dancer Pasha Kovalev, was dining in a restaurant on October 7 when she witnessed pro-Palestinian locals dancing in the street.
In an interview, she said: ‘Sometimes I go online and I’m terrified by this overwhelming amount of people who seem to be baying for blood.
‘For me and my Jewish friends, the pain and stress are something we are all struggling with. We are crying when we wake up, we are struggling to sleep and the images of carnage are hard to get out of your head.’
And only last week she appeared on BBC2’s
Newsnight to discuss the sharp rise of anti-Semitism reported recently in the UK. She also blasted the Corporation for its failure to label Hamas as ‘terrorists’.
In 2018 Ms Riley drew criticism with a campaign against the way Labour, under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, had handled allegations of antiSemitism. She stated she had been branded ‘brainwashed’ and ‘thick’, adding that she did not have ‘any party loyalties’.
Meanwhile, Hollywood’s Jewish celebrities and executives are anxiously rushing to hire military-trained armed bodyguards as the war in Gaza escalates.
‘We’ve had a sharp increase in requests from our Jewish clients,’ says Kenneth Bombace of US-based Global Threat Solutions, which protects stars and billionaires. ‘They’re afraid they could be a target.’