TV PRESENTER Rachel Riley will be waltzing across the screens for her Strictly Come Dancing debut this weekend.

The Countdown and Gadget Show presenter from Thorpe Bay is one of the favourites to win the series, and will open her bid for the honours by waltzing with dance partner, Pasha Kovalev.

All 15 celebrities will appear on the BBC One show this weekend, with no viewer more avid than Rachel’s proud mum, Celia Riley.

She said: “I’m very excited and nervous, and I can’t wait to see her dance.

“All I’ve seen of the training is the short clips online, and it looks as though it’s going really well.

“She’s absolutely fallen in love with dancing, and Pasha is such a great teacher. She’s got the bug now, and really wants to do herself proud.

Pasha has twice come second in the show, dancing with Girls Aloud singer, Kimberly Walsh in 2012, and with Waterloo Road actress Chelsee Healey, in 2011.

Mrs Riley said: “Pasha’s got a very good track record and Kimberly danced beautifully last year, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed this year will be his year.”

According to her mum, Rachel has loved every minute of Strictly so far, even though she has only ever had a single proper dancing lesson – before her wedding, in preparation for her first dance.

Mrs Riley added: “It’s very hard, because she’s balancing her work schedule around Strictly, but she’s absolutely loving it. Rachel and I both thought the waltz would be easiest, but she has struggled a little bit with the steps, as it’s at a very high level. She has all the steps in her head now and just needs to perfect the routine.”

Mrs Riley says friends and relatives have been in touch to voice their support for Rachel.

She added: “So many people in Essex are rooting for her, and the whole family are extremely excited.

“Her dad’s quite nimble on the football pitch, but not so great on the dancefloor, so let’s hope she takes after me rather than him!”