Rachel Riley took a brutal swipe at Strictly Come Dancing today during a segment on Lorraine - but all fans could talk about was her 'sensational' dress.
The Countdown star, 39, appeared on ITV's Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters this week and made a cutting remark about her stint on the BBC dance show during an interview with Christine Lampard.
Rachel competed on Strictly back in 2013, where she was partnered with professional dancer Pasha Kovalev, who is now her husband, and was eliminated in week six.
Speaking to Christine about diving in the Atlantic with one of the world's most feared predators, she admitted: 'Blue sky and blue sea, you know what you're getting.
'Strictly is just a whole level of other stuff - I'd take great whites over Strictly.'
It's not the first time Rachel has opened up about the emotional toll of the competition.
Rachel Riley took a brutal swipe at Strictly Come Dancing today during a segment on Lorraine - but all fans could talk about was her 'sensational' dress
The Countdown star, 39, appeared on ITV 's Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters this week and said she'd much rather swim with sharks than appear on the BBC dance show again
In 2021, she revealed the experience left her with post-traumatic stress disorder, saying she even had to undergo cognitive behavioural therapy to cope.
'If I heard the theme music, I'd start reliving the experience. It was scary and unnerving, so my way of dealing with it is to avoid watching,' she said at the time.
Still, she has one fond memory of her time on the show - meeting her husband Pasha, 45, who she married in 2019. The couple now share two children. 'He's just amazing,' she gushed.
But viewers were captivated by Rachel's ocean-inspired dress, which featured wave-like ripples in blue and white, and perfectly matched the marine footage playing behind her.
One fan wrote online: 'Missed it! Will watch on catch up! Lovely dress Rachel! Very marine!' while another added: 'Gorgeous dress Rachel you look absolutely beautiful.'
A third said simply: 'You looked sensational.'
Rachel later shared more behind-the-scenes insights on Instagram, posting about the Bahamas-based filming and the dive at night.
'This episode sees us taken to the Sapona shipwreck, where Al Capone used to hold illicit parties out at sea, diving at nighttime, in pitch darkness (it felt like being on the moon), with some incredible wildlife encounters!' she wrote.
Viewers were captivated by Rachel's ocean-inspired dress, which featured wave-like ripples in blue and white, and perfectly matched the marine footage playing behind her
'Christine and I are both in agreement that this is still less scary than the thought of having to dance on Strictly again.'
It comes as Rachel was left red-faced as she was forced to spell out a rude seven-letter word by her countdown co-star Susie Dent during a recent episode.
At the end of one of the rounds, host Colin Murray, 47, was keen to find out how long contestants Joe and Anne's words were. But unfortunately they didn't manage to find one over four.
Joe explained that he found alas, while Anne pointed out the word lose.
Presenter Colin then went over to Dictionary Corner, where guest Nicki Chapman, 58, shared some good news with lexicographer Susie.
Nicki said: 'Tough, really tough. But Susie has come up with arousal for seven,' and an impressed Colin replied: 'Wow. Sensational, well done Susie, well done.'
The camera than panned back at Rachel, 39, who looked very awkward after finding out Susie's racy word. The TV star then spelt out her word on the board.
Susie has been impressing viewers with her knowledge on Countdown since 1992 She is best known for being the resident lexicographer on the Channel 4 show.
Speaking to Christine about diving in the Atlantic with one of the world's most feared predators, she admitted: 'Blue sky and blue sea, you know what you're getting'
Fans adored Rachel's marine-themed dress, and praised her 'beautiful' look on social media
Meanwhile Rachel has appeared on Countdown since 2009, and Colin has been a permanent presenter of the programme since 2022, after taking over from Anne Robinson, 80.
Luckily Susie's word wasn't as rude as one contestant's - which ended up being cut from a previous edit.
A former audience member, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Sun that one rude answer was so bad producers were forced to ban it from airing because of fears over complaints.
They explained: 'There were a couple of retakes and the funniest one was when a guy said "pisser" in the anagrams round. It was a great six-letter word but they couldn't use it.'
Lorraine airs weekdays from 9am on ITV1 and is available to stream on ITVX.
