COUNTDOWN star Rachel Riley has been forced to continue hiring security after a series of death threats.
The terrified 38-year-old is now being escorted to and from the studios for filming – costing her thousands in protection costs.
Mum-of-two Rachel, who has previously said she has been left ‘shaking with fear’, has been vocal in support of the Jewish community amid the Israel Palestine war.
She first hired the security in October of last year and still believes she needs support after ongoing trolling online.
An insider said: “It’s been a really difficult time for Rachel and she is determined to keep being a voice for the community.
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“The security has given her that extra confidence. It’s not ideal, but she feels like it’s important.”
She has spoken of her upset and concern amid the ongoing turmoil, telling MailOnline last year: “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.”
Rachel, who is married to ex Strictly star Pasha Kovalev, has previously spoken out to condemn Anti-Semitism in the Labour Party and Jeremy Corbyn in the past.
It’s not the first time she has required extra security – back in 2019 she was forced to get help after a barrage of online abuse.
She told OK! Magazine in the past: "When I made an innocuous comment about anti-Semitism in [then leader] Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party in 2019, it promoted an avalanche of abuse among his supporters.
"I wasn't making a party-political point. It was because I'm Jewish, although I don't practise the religion."
She added: "I had to have extra security at Countdown and the stress caused my then unborn child to stop kicking for two days,
"In the end I got a lawyer and we contacted a handful of the worst offenders."
