Countdown maths boffin Rachel Riley has clocked up some impressive figures of her own after bookies installed her as favourite to win Strictly Come Dancing when the line-up was confirmed.

 

She will take on Hairy Biker Dave Myers, fashion designer Julien Macdonald and singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor in the new series which will launch on BBC1 this weekend.

And even before we've seen a Foxtrot or Tango from the 2013 line up,  fans of the show can get their hands on tickets for next year’s live show in  just days.
The 2014 Strictly Come Dancing Live UK Tour will be at the SSE Hydro on February 1 and 2 with Len Goodman, Craig Revel Horwood and Bruno Tonioli judging.
Tickets, priced £25-£65, will go on sale from 9am on Monday from www.thehydro.com or 0844 35 4000.  
Pre-sale tickets will also be available to those registered on thehydro.com from Thursday.

Riley, a 27-year-old Oxford graduate, has been placed as the early favourite at 4-1 by bookmaker William Hill, with model Abbey Clancy - wife of England soccer star Peter Crouch - close behind at 5-1.

The 15-strong line-up will feature in the launch show on Saturday and will be hoping to remain in the contest until December as they battle for the all-important glitterball trophy.

Others who have been unveiled are Coronation Street's Natalie Gumede, Dragons' Den panellist Deborah Meaden and veteran golfing great Tony Jacklin.

Former Bond girl Fiona Fullerton, who featured in A View To A Kill, Ashley Taylor Dawson from Hollyoaks, radio presenter Vanessa Feltz and Patrick Robinson from Casualty are also among the stars hoping to dazzle on the dancefloor.

Another competitor, BBC Breakfast host Susanna Reid, said she is "aching in places I've never ached before", after beginning her training for Strictly.

But Reid who has already appeared on a Children in Need Strictly special in 2011 and ranked in FHM's 100 sexiest women poll, added she was "not in it to win it, just to enjoy it".