Rachel Riley is calling for greater awareness around basic health knowledge, following the tragic loss of a loved one. The Countdown presenter's friend was only 34 when he died from an unnoticed heart condition, despite being 'super fit' and showing no apparent signs of ill health.

In light of this, Rachel, 39, emphasised the importance of knowing 'what is going on underneath the skin' and taking charge of your health from an early age to mitigate risks. The TV mathematician's alert comes as Bupa Health Clinics revealed an alarming health knowledge gap in the UK.

The data showed that half of UK adults are unaware of their own weight, while a staggering three quarters don't know their reading. Yet, more than half (57%) expressed concern about the possibility of having or developing a specific health condition.

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Speaking exclusively with , Rachel said: "Some of the most important numbers in our lives are our health measures, and I realised I wasn't paying enough attention to those. Having children has made me think differently about my long-term health, and after losing a friend to an undetected heart condition at a young age, I understood that we can't assume anything."

The mum-of-two, who is married to former star Pasha Kovalev, shared that her friend was 'as fit as can be', which left him oblivious to his underlying health issue. "I think when you're young, you just don't think about it [health] as much," Rachel continued.

"But yeah, I mean we'll never know [what could've been] if he would've gone [for a check]. There's a place called CRY that specifically checks [cardiac health] for young people, other than that, you just don't know where to go to get an MOT on your body.

"So, you're just kind of guessing and hoping for the best. But, if there's anything you can do that can give you a bit of help, especially when you've got kids and there's people relying on you, it's good to do it."

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In support of Bupa's Knowledge Is Power initiative, Rachel revealed how her own gut problems and Davina McCall's recent health ordeal influenced her decision to seek a comprehensive health assessment for herself. Last year, Davina was astonished to learn she had a rare benign tumour known as a 'colloid cyst' during a random health examination.

Despite its 14mm-wide size, she appeared to have no symptoms before its discovery. Since then, she's had it removed and is urging over-40s to go for their free health checks, offered by the .

Amidst this, Rachel went on: "I've had gut issues since I was young and it comes and goes, but I know with those kind of issues particularly, prevention is better than any cure or medication afterwards. I just wanted to get proper advice on that, especially these days there's so much online, you don't know if you can trust it, with social media and influencers.

"It's just hard to know where to go to for good advice, so to have someone for just some advice they can give me, it's a bit more reassuring."

Dr John Field, Associate Clinical Director at Bupa Health Clinics said: "Empowering individuals with knowledge is the first step towards a healthier and happier nation. By knowing and fully understanding key health markers, people can begin to make more informed decisions and take proactive steps to improve their physical and mental wellbeing."