Rachel Riley has supported a friend suffering domestic abuse during lockdown.
The ‘Countdown’ co-host has been helping her pal after she discovered she was a victim in her own home, and the TV presenter is now hoping to make a difference to more women facing the same issue.
Speaking to the Daily Mirror newspaper, she said: "I’ve been supporting a friend who I didn’t know was in a situation of domestic violence for some years.
"While I can’t go into specifics, I know Covid has made things more difficult. It’s been so hard for women in her situation, without direct access to support services. I saw a poster that said, ‘Domestic abusers have always worked from home,’ and that’s so true."
The 34-year-old star is fronting the 2020 National Lottery Awards, which is supporting the Women’s Trust, a London-based therapy and counselling charity for women who have experienced domestic abuse.
She said: "There’s no outlet currently. People are trapped at home, the kids aren’t at school and police and social services are running a limited service. These campaigners do an incredible job, they’ve often had similar experiences and their own stories are hard to listen to.
"So many survivors of domestic abuse will want to say a big thank you to those who’ve gone the extra mile to help."
It comes after Rachel was attacked on Twitter by anti-semitic trolls, and now she is hoping to help change the toxicity of social media.
She explained: "I had my eyes opened by the anti-semitic attacks and am now patron of a non-profit organisation called the Centre for Countering Digital Hate.
"We’re dealing with a whole infrastructure of baddies using the internet to make money and sow hatred – be it anti-Muslim, anti-black, anti-Jewish, anti-vaccine or any other misinformation. A lot of people are intentionally misleading others to make money and social media companies do nothing."