Rachel Riley has revealed she will be taking time away from Countdown with her second child due soon. 

The star, who attended Southend High for Girls as a youngster, is now on maternity leave as she and husband Pasha Kovalev await the arrival of their second child. 

Pasha has previously revealed Rachel is due to give birth in October. 

And the maths genius has hinted her due date is soon after revealing she was stepping back from her role on Countdown in a post on Twitter. 

She wrote: "Well that’s it from me, I’ve officially finished filming to pop a baby out.

"You’re stuck with me on screen till December when the totally amazing @aimafidon will be keeping the numbers in line till I’m back next year.

"Hope you have loads of fun Anne-Marie, best of luck lovely."

The couple already have a daughter, Maven, who was born in December the same year.

The presenter started dating Kovalev after splitting from her husband, fellow Oxford University student, Jamie Gilbert in 2013.

Kovalev announced he was leaving Strictly following the 2018 series, after eight years on the show.

Fans of the couple were quick to send their congratulations in messages after Rachel had revealed the news about her second pregnancy earlier this year. 

She made the revelation on Twitter by sharing a photo of herself standing in front of the show’s famous letter board holding her hands over her baby bump.

Her post read: “A special teatime teaser!

“And your clue is… Riley had this to thank for the reason her clothes no longer fit her… And it’ll only get worse till Autumn!

“Happy, happy days for our little family @pashakovalev and future big sister Mave.”