TV host Clare Balding is once again gracing our screens, this time exploring the stories of Britain’s most iconic rivers and their surrounding landscapes. Her new Channel 5 show, Tales From The Riverbank with Clare Balding, takes viewers on a journey along the majestic Severn, which originates from a brook in the Cambrian mountains of Wales and meanders for 220 miles until it reaches Bristol and the Severn Estuary.
Along the way, the 54-year-old will visit nearby towns and engage with the communities that lend these areas their unique charm. The series kicks off on Thursday, February 13 at 8pm on Channel 5, offering six episodes for fans to enjoy.
With three decades in broadcasting under her belt, Balding has established herself as one of the country’s most esteemed and recognisable presenters, having also helmed major sporting events such as the Olympics, Paralympic Games, Grand National, Commonwealth Games and Wimbledon.
Her popularity among viewers has inevitably drawn attention to her life off-camera, with her personal relationships, controversies and even her sexuality making headlines over the years.
Here’s an insight into Balding’s life away from the studio, covering everything from her apprehensions about disclosing her sexuality and her ‘appalling’ ex-boyfriend, to the ‘inexcusable’ comment that she counts as one of her biggest regrets.
Clare Balding’s famous wife and ‘appalling’ boyfriend
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Clare Balding found love within the corporation’s walls when she met her now-wife, broadcaster Alice Arnold, back in 1999.
Initially forming a close friendship, the pair’s relationship blossomed into romance in 2002, coinciding with the public revelation of Balding’s sexuality by a national newspaper.
that the couple entered into a civil partnership in 2006 before tying the knot in a private ceremony in 2015 following the legalisation of gay marriage in the UK, with their marriage then back-dated to 2006.
Alice Arnold, known for her over two-decade tenure as a newsreader and continuity announcer on Radio 4, continues to lend her voice to the airwaves with Bauer Media Audio UK on Mellow Magic.
Balding reminisced about their initial encounter at a event, admitting she was struck by Arnold’s allure and humour: “I saw her and thought ‘Oh, she’s really interesting and rather beautiful’,” she shared.
“We started chatting and she’s very funny. We were friends for at least two years.”
The broadcaster lauded her wife’s unwavering support, describing Arnold as “fiercely loyal” and likening her to a protective presence: “She would protect me and it’s an incredible quality to have. It’s like having your own little guard dog – it’s amazing.”
Balding, who had previously dated men and even declined a marriage proposal from an ex-boyfriend—who she disclosed later “behaved appallingly”—has found her true match in Arnold, with no regrets about the path her love life has taken.
“I had a few boyfriends, not like loads. But I had one very serious boyfriend for two or three years,” she revealed. “He asked me to marry him and he was in the Army and he was going off. And I thought ‘he’s only asking me because he thinks he’s in danger and, according to romantic films, I’m meant to say yes at this point’.”
She admitted her doubts: “I knew I didn’t want to. I said ‘Look, that’s a lovely thing to say but ask me again when you come back’. When he came back he didn’t ask me again, and I thought ”Thank God”. I thought ‘I don’t trust you and I’ll never trust you’ – and funnily enough I was absolutely spot on as his ex-wife told me not that long ago.”
Reflecting on the impact of that relationship, she confessed: “That relationship ended not very well with him behaving appallingly. I think I was damaged by that, but that doesn’t make you gay. I just think when I first fell in love with a woman it was completely different.”
Clare Balding’s cancer diagnosis with wife at her side
In 2009, Balding revealed she had been diagnosed with thyroid cancer. The alarm was raised when she noticed a lump on her throat while appearing on television, encountering symptoms such as a persistent sore throat and difficulty swallowing.
Following the removal of a cyst, her thyroid gland, and a lymph node, she underwent radioactive iodine treatment. Despite concerns over the potential effects on her voice and career, she joyfully received the all-clear by the end of 2010.
“I had to undergo a minor operation just before Christmas to remove an unpleasant lymph node, and there was concern that I might need further treatment,” she disclosed at the time. “But I received a delightful letter from my oncologist after Christmas stating, ‘Hurrah, no more treatment’, so I’m overjoyed about that. 2011 is set to be a good year.”
In a subsequent interview, she confessed to experiencing a “dark phase” during her illness, but noted: “When I recovered, my outlook on life shifted. I feel happy most days, grateful for all I have.”
Inside Clare Balding’s home life
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A glimpse into Clare Balding’s domestic life reveals that she lives with her wife Alice Arnold in the London suburb of Chiswick. The couple has always called Chiswick home, following Alice’s playful stipulation: “We can live anywhere you want, as long as it’s Chiswick”
The pair graciously invited viewers into their abode for an episode of Celebrity Googlebox. Their snug living room, adorned with a cream sofa and patterned red cushions against a grey backdrop, offers a cosy haven for the couple to snuggle up with their cats and indulge in television.
snapshots showcase Clare’s immaculate kitchen, featuring pristine white cabinets contrasted with sleek black countertops, all grounded by warm light wooden flooring.
During the 2021 Spring Lectures for The Upper Room, Clare expressed her fondness for home life and routine. “I make sure I walk every day, so the tow path between Chiswick Bridge and Kew Bridge is very well trodden for me. I try and do five miles a day minimum… I understand much more now what I need to keep me on track.”
Backlash over live TV comment
Clare Balding presenting Paris 2024 Olympics for BBC (Image: BBC)
While Clare Balding is celebrated as one of the UK’s leading presenters, she became embroiled in controversy while covering the Olympics in Paris last year. Engaging with Olympic champion Rebecca Adlington, viewers took issue when an astonished-sounding Balding reacted to Adlington’s comment that no Olympians had visited her school, accusing Balding of classism.
Fellow pundit Mark Foster had been explaining how a visit from Duncan Goodhew to his local swimming club had “inspired” him as a child, when Adlington was asked if she’d had a similar experience.
However, she replied: “To be fair, I didn’t have somebody like that,” with a surprised-sounding Balding, who was privately educated, asking: “No one came to your school?!”
The remark left some viewers fuming, with one writing: “Of course Balding thought it TOTALLY NORMAL for Olympic medal winners to visit schools – because being privately educated and descended from nobility and privilege, this kind of thing is part of the cultural experience they expect.”
Alice supported Clare through her cancer diagnosis (Image: clarebalding/Instagram)
The presenter was defended by her colleague Gabby Logan, however, as she responded to one viewer: “I’m sure lots of what you say may be true about private school experiences, but it’s certainly not true about the whole of the . I went to a state school nobody visited, teachers were striking in the 80’s, and no school trips. NB ‘Speakers for Schools’ is great charity.”
Logan added: “Also to be clear I love my colleague and she’s a great broadcaster. But a sweeping statement about the needed addressing. Look at our OG line up across the day, we are a mixed bag from different backgrounds bringing all our many experiences to the way we communicate.”
This was not the first occasion Clare Balding found herself under scrutiny for ill-judged comments; previously, she faced backlash for a quip made towards jockey Liam Treadwell after his Grand National triumph. On live TV, while suggesting Treadwell had less-than-perfect teeth, Balding remarked: “Liam, just give us a big grin to the camera, let’s see your teeth. He hasn’t got the best teeth in the world, but you can afford to go and get them done now if you like.”
Treadwell, who tragically passed away in 2020 at only 34 years old, replied good-naturedly: “Well I could do, but I ain’t complaining. It might be bringing on bad luck if I do that, though.”
The remarks sparked outrage among viewers, resulting in over 2,000 complaints being submitted to Ofcom following the broadcast. Reflecting on the incident, Balding conceded: “It was a terrible thing to do. It coincided with my illness and I believed that was it for me – I would never work again. It was inexcusable and it taught me a big lesson.”