Rachel Riley has joked about staying away from Countdown’s letter tiles, after she spelt out a rude word on screen.

The 29-year-old presenter laughed nervously as she put up the letters S, L, U and T in last night’s (August 3) episode of the Channel 4 words and numbers game show.

Things got even more awkward when Rachel also turned over a Z, as she urged host Nick Hewer to move on, saying: “Let’s speed this along.”

The incident got laughs from contestant Chris Reeves as well as the studio crowd, but the Oxford University graduate maintained her professionalism throughout.

The Strictly Come Dancing star tweeted afterwards, joking it was an, “occupational hazard.”

The clanger happened on Rachel’s first day back on the programme, after she returned from holiday.

The mishap prompted some viewers to have a titter on the behalf of Rachel and the show. But many fans praised Rachel’s cool reaction.

This is not the first time an unfortunate letters combination has created a naughty word on Countdown.

Dictionary Corner guest Myleene Klass spelled out “gobs***e” during her appearance on the show earlier this year, as she put forward the eight-letter word as a suggestion.

Rachel is no stranger to rude words, when she pulled out the word “m***e” in 2012 and a**e” in 2013.

Rachel Riley on Countdown
Rachel Riley spelled out a naughty word on Countdown (Channel 4)

In April, two contestants came up with the eight-letter solution “erection” in the word game, while Hairy Biker David Myers produced the eight-letter word “todgers” last October.