We're delighted to announce that Dr Tom Crawford is to cover Rachel Riley MBE on Countdown whilst Rachel takes a short break to work on another project.  Tom joined Robinson as a College Teaching Officer in Applied Mathematics in October 2024.  

Dr Chris Warner said ""It's great to see our "Maverick Mathematician" will be on television, and on a favourite quiz show of mine to boot."

Tickets for Tom's upcoming lecture 'Using Maths to Clean the Ocean' are available to book here

Channel 4 Press Release

Maverick Mathematician steps into Maths corner on Countdown

Dr Tom Crawford is to cover Rachel Riley MBE on Countdown whilst Rachel Riley takes a short break to work on another project.

A Mathematician at both Cambridge and Oxford Universities joins the UK’s longest running game show. Tom, who is friends with Rachel, holds the position of Fellow by Special Election at St Edmund Hall and Public Engagement Lead at the Oxford University Department for Continuing Education. At Cambridge, Tom is a Lecturer in Applied Mathematics at Robinson College.

Tom is known to the internet as Tom Rocks Maths which makes elite mathematics teaching available to everyone.  With a stronghold of 200,000+ followers and racking up 25million views, Tom has been engaging fellow Mathematical grads in the bonkers world of equations since the inception of his much-loved ‘Equations Stripped’ series, removing the challenging stimulus around these kinds of formulae, but also his clothes. In an unorthodox yet fun way, Tom’s keeping others entertained whilst sharing his love for Maths.

Having already spent some time with Rachel to learn the ropes, a fully clothed Tom began filming in December and will be seen on screen alongside lexicographer, Susie Dent, and host, Colin Murray, for the next three weeks. Sir Stephen Fry is in Dictionary Corner for Tom’s first show, with other guests including Jenny Powell and Vick Hope on screen over the next three weeks.

Rachel Riley MBE said: “Countdown viewers are in great hands with Tom, who is a brilliant Mathematician and a lovely guy. He’s also used to people commenting on the clothes he wears (or lack of them) on his show so I am sure he will take to the role like a duck to water.”

Dr Tom Crawford added: “All of my work online is about sharing my love of Maths with the world whilst trying to make it accessible for everyone. Countdown has been doing that for a generation, so it really is a dream come true to be joining this iconic show to cover Rachel. I may even have to get another tattoo to commemorate the event!"

Watch or stream Countdown Channel 4 every weekday afternoon from 2:10pm on Channel 4.