Rachel Riley's first day back at work on Countdown following her maternity leave was one to remember! The TV host was joined by her husband Pasha Kovalev and their baby daughter Maven, 11 months, who made her TV debut with her famous parents. Maven was introduced at the beginning of the episode, as host Nick Hewer asked Rachel how her weekend was. The doting mum replied: "I had a bit of a busy weekend, I made a new friend, quite literally, do you want to meet her?" Maven then appeared on set in Pasha's arms. "So yeah, a bit of a busy weekend, it feels like two and a half months have passed," Rachel joked.
WATCH: Rachel Riley's daughter Maven makes her Countdown debut
Rachel Riley's baby daughter Maven made her Countdown debut on Monday
The former Strictly contestant shared a sweet photo of herself with her baby daughter on the set of Countdown shortly before the episode aired on Monday. In the caption, she wrote: "Introducing our newest Countdown viewer on my first show back filmed post-baby today!" Fans were quick to comment on just how cute Maven was, with one writing: "Welcome back to work! She is absolutely beautiful," while another wrote: "Aww, was nice to meet her on TV!" A third observed: "She is the spitting image of her daddy!"
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Rachel and Pasha Kovalev welcomed Maven in December
Since Maven's arrival, Rachel and Pasha have been documenting her first few months with their fans on social media. Earlier in the month, the doting parents celebrated their daughter turning three months old. Rachel shared a series of Instagram snaps of Maven over the past few weeks, and wrote alongside them: "The little one is three months old today. It's true what they say, it's hard to remember life before her and the cliché is true – she's the best thing we've ever done."
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Rachel and Pasha welcomed their daughter, whose full name is Maven Aria Riley Kovaleva, on 15 December, two weeks after her due date. They eloped to Las Vegas in May last year, shortly after announcing that they were expecting a baby. In November, Rachel spoke to HELLO! about her pregnancy and revealed how she and Pasha wanted to ensure their baby speaks Russian as well as English to honour both sides of the family. She said: "We've got baby books with farmyard animals described in Russian so Pasha is going to be on bedtime story duty, otherwise they won’t be able to speak to their grandma and uncle."
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