Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Rachel Riley says she privately danced for Stephen Hawking

The soundtrack was Nelly Furtado

Ilana Kaplan
Thursday 29 March 2018 08:48 BST
Comments
Rachel Riley once 'privately danced' for Stephen Hawking

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Rachel Riley revealed she once performed a private dance for Stephen Hawking.

The Countdown presenter told the story about her "weirdest day ever" on an episode of The Chris Ramsey Show.

The story came up when host Ramsey asked guest Guz Khan to guess which British figure Riley had performed a private dance for, with options being David Beckham, Prince Harry or Stephen Hawking.

Rachel Riley, who danced for Stephen Hawking
Rachel Riley, who danced for Stephen Hawking (Getty)

Khan guessed Beckham, but Riley revealed that it was actually Hawking, and Jimmy Carr was to blame.

"Weirdest day ever... I was filming The Gadget Show," she began.

"So in the morning Ainsley Harriott cooked me three Christmas dinners - in October - and then Jimmy Carr messaged saying he was going out with Stephen Hawking and his family and friends, who are good mates," Riley added.

She said that his caretakers and family were big fans of Strictly Come Dancing, and since she was on it "all the time" she came down from Birmingham during mid-training and even brought boyfriend Pasha Kovalev.

Even though she was just two days into learning the new routine, she felt like she had to dance.

Riley explained, "He put the music on. I went to do the dance, and three beats in I accidentally head-butted Pasha. We have it on video somewhere."

She recalled that Hawking and the group were "p***ing themselves" laughing.

What made it even weirder is that the private dance was soundtracked by Nelly Furtado's club hit "Maneater."

Stephen Hawking passed away earlier this month at the age of 76.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in