Clare Balding facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Clare Balding
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Balding in August 2017
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Clare Victoria Balding
29 January 1971 Kingsclere, Hampshire, England
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| Nationality | English |
| Alma mater | Newnham College, Cambridge |
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Alice Arnold
(m. 2015) |
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Clare Victoria Balding (born 29 January 1971) is a well-known English TV and radio presenter, journalist, and author. She is famous for presenting sports programmes for the BBC and Channel 4. She also used to host Good Morning Sunday on BBC Radio 2. Clare Balding was the 30th president of the Rugby Football League, serving from July 2020 until December 2022.
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Early Life and Family Connections
Clare Victoria Balding was born on 29 January 1971. Her father, Ian Balding, was a famous racehorse trainer. Her mother, Emma Balding, also came from a family of horse trainers.
Clare went to a private school called Downe House School in Berkshire. She was the head girl there. Later, she went to Newnham College, Cambridge university and studied English. While at university, she was the President of the Cambridge Union Society in 1992. She graduated in 1993.
From 1988 to 1993, Clare was a top amateur flat jockey. She was even named Champion Lady Rider in 1990. Her book, My Animals and Other Family, tells the story of her childhood growing up around horse racing. This book won an award for "Autobiography of the Year" in 2012.
Clare's family has strong ties to horse racing. Her father, Ian Balding, trained the famous horse Mill Reef. This horse won major races like The Derby in 1971. Her younger brother, Andrew Balding, also trained a winner, Casual Look, who won the 2003 Epsom Oaks. Her uncle, Toby Balding, trained winners in the Grand National and other big races. Her maternal grandfather, Peter Hastings-Bass, was also a trainer. Even her maternal uncle, William Hastings-Bass, 17th Earl of Huntingdon, trained horses for Queen Elizabeth II.
Clare's family history was explored in the TV show Who Do You Think You Are? She learned that her great-great-great-grandfather, Joseph C. Hoagland, started the Royal Baking Powder Company in 1866. This company became one of the biggest producers of baking powder in the U.S.
Broadcasting Career
Clare Balding started her career at BBC National Radio in 1994. She worked on different radio stations like 5 Live, Radio 1, Radio 2, and Radio 4. In 1995, she first appeared on television, presenting highlights from Royal Ascot. By 1997, she became the BBC's main horse racing presenter. She has also hosted coverage of the Grand National.
Clare has reported from many major sporting events:
- Olympic Games: She has covered eight Olympic Games for the BBC. She started with radio in Atlanta and then moved to TV for the Sydney Games. She presented coverage from Athens (2004), Beijing (2008), London (2012), Rio (2016), Tokyo (2020), and Paris (2024).
- Winter Olympic Games: Clare has also presented from five Winter Olympic Games for the BBC. These include Salt Lake City (2002), Turin (2006), Vancouver (2010), Sochi (2014), Pyeongchang (2018), and Beijing (2022).
- Commonwealth Games: She has presented from five Commonwealth Games. She was a main presenter for the BBC at the Melbourne (2006), Delhi (2010), Glasgow (2014), Gold Coast (2018), and Birmingham (2022) Games.
Clare has also presented five Paralympic Games. She hosted the BBC's rugby league coverage and was the last person to present Sunday Grandstand.
She presents other live events for the BBC, such as the Lord Mayor's Show and Trooping the Colour. She has also covered Crufts, a famous dog show, for both the BBC and Channel 4.
Clare hosts the walking programme Ramblings on BBC Radio 4. In this show, she walks and talks with people who love a particular route or activity. She also covered The Boat Race for the BBC since 2010.
In 2010, Clare presented a BBC TV series called Britain By Bike. This show explored British cycle tours. She also joined BBC's Countryfile for a while in 2011.
In 2012, Clare was a main presenter for Channel 4's 2012 Summer Paralympics TV coverage. She also started presenting Channel 4's horse racing coverage.
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Clare supports women in sport. In 2013, she presented a documentary about Emily Davison, a suffragette, for Channel 4. She also presented a BBC documentary about Queen Elizabeth II called The Queen – a Passion for Horses.
She is one of the presenters for BBC Sports Personality of the Year. From 2013 to 2017, Clare hosted Good Morning Sunday on BBC Radio 2. She also presented a quiz show for BBC One called Britain's Brightest. From 2013 to 2016, she was a senior presenter on Channel 4 Racing. Since 2015, she has hosted Today at Wimbledon for the BBC, becoming the lead presenter in 2023.
Clare also had her own sports chat show called The Clare Balding Show. It aired on BT Sport and BBC Two. Famous guests included Lewis Hamilton and Tom Daley.
Writing
Clare Balding has written columns for several newspapers and magazines, including The Sporting Life, Racing Post, and Sunday Telegraph. She currently writes a weekly sports column for Waitrose Weekend.
Her autobiography, My Animals and Other Family, was published in 2012. It became a Number One bestseller. Her second book, Walking Home: My Family and other Ramblings, was published in 2014.
Awards and Recognition
Clare Balding has received many awards for her work:
- She was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2013 for her services to broadcasting and journalism.
- In 2013, she received a special BAFTA award for her work on the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.
- She won the Royal Television Society's "Sports Presenter of the Year" award in 2003 and "Presenter" in 2012.
- She also won "Racing Journalist of the Year Award" and "Racing Broadcaster of the Year".
- Her book, My Animals and Other Family, won the "Biography/Autobiography of the Year" award at the National Book Awards in 2012.
- She received an achievement award from Women in Film and Television in 2012 for her Olympic and Paralympic coverage.
- In 2013, she was named one of the 100 most powerful women in the UK by Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4.
- She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2022 for her services to sport and charity.
Personal Life
Clare Balding is married to Alice Arnold, who used to be a newsreader for BBC Radio 4. They entered into a civil partnership in 2006 and then married in 2015. They live in Chiswick, West London.
In 2009, Clare announced that she had thyroid cancer. She recovered well after treatment.
In 2009, after jockey Liam Treadwell won the Grand National, Clare interviewed him and made a comment about his teeth. Liam later said he was happy about the comment because a dentist offered to fix his teeth for free.
Charitable Work
Clare Balding has been a presenter for Sport Relief since it started in 2002. She also took part in a celebrity version of The Apprentice to raise money for charity. Her team raised over £400,000.
In 2010, Clare became a patron of the British Thyroid Foundation. In 2015, she became an ambassador for Southampton FC's charity, the Saints Foundation.
She is also a patron for many other charities, including Riding for the Disabled, British Paralympic Association, and the Jane Tomlinson Appeal. She is also a Vice-Patron for the Injured Jockeys Fund.
Rugby League
After presenting the BBC's coverage of rugby league for several years, Clare Balding was appointed as the 30th President of the Rugby Football League in July 2020. She served a two-year term until December 2022. During her time as president, she wanted to see the women's game become a professional sport.
See also
- List of significant families in British horse racing
