The new Countdown co-host, Rachel Riley, has reportedly been “struggling” to meet the high standards set by Carol Vorderman on the show.

22-year-old Rachel, an Oxford graduate, took over from Carol while presenter Jeff Stelling replaced host Des O’Connor.

Sources from Channel 4 have claimed that in the first few weeks of the show, Rachel couldn’t solve the number puzzles as quickly and accurately as Carol. One of the sources told the News of the World,

“It’s clear she hasn’t managed to match Carol’s skills yet. If the contestants couldn’t solve a problem Carol would quickly do it for them. But during the filming for her first fifteen episodes the new girl made some mistakes.” Read more & comment »