Rachel Burden was born 22 January 1975 in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, England. She is the daughter of Paul Burden, a former BBC journalist, and grew up in a large family as the fourth of five children. Her uncle was actor Hugh Burden.

She attended Wycombe High School, a grammar school in Buckinghamshire. After completing her A-levels, she studied History and Politics at Trinity College Dublin before completing a Broadcast Journalism diploma at Cardiff University.

Burden began her journalism career at BBC Radio Suffolk as a reporter. After about 15 months she moved to BBC Radio Bristol, where she co-hosted the early morning breakfast show. Her work there helped establish her reputation as a capable radio presenter.

In 2003, she joined BBC Radio 5 Live, later becoming co-presenter of the 5 Live Breakfast show alongside Nicky Campbell in 2011. The programme is one of the BBC’s flagship news radio shows.

She also appears as a weekend presenter on BBC Breakfast on BBC One. Burden lives in Cheshire with her husband and their children while continuing her broadcasting career.