'Being made to feel irrelevant was an asset': Clare Balding

on how she went from school misfit to TV's golden girl


By Sarah Bull 3 May 2013
Her coverage of the London 2012 Olympics cemented her status as TV's golden girl.

But Clare Balding has revealed in a new interview that she wasn't always so confident, and was something of a misfit during her time at school.

The 42-year-old presenter admitted in a new interview with Woman & Home magazine that it took a long time for her to realise how to use her misfit status to her advantage when it comes to her job.
She said: 'I felt like a misfit at school and I think that’s quite common. But that feeling is an advantage when I interview people because when you’re on the sidelines, you’re a spectator.

'I can talk to different characters with different life experiences and I can listen very carefully. I’m much more interested in them than in me in that interview, just as I should be.'

Clare added that feeling like an outsider stemmed from her childhood - but she doesn't consider it negative that she was brought up in that way.
She said: 'Being made to feel like an irrelevant child was probably an asset. Benign negligence is not a bad parental attitude or at least a cross between a benevolent dictator and benign negligence – you should just let kids crack on with it.
'That suited us and we lived in a very safe environment where you could have this wild, muddy, outdoor lifestyle; I thought it was absolute bliss.'

And Clare, who looks glamorous in a selection of chic outfits for the accompanying photoshoot, also said that she has learned to channel her feelings into her work - which has seen her become one of the most popular sports presenters of all time.

She said: 'When I have to stand up and perform, I switch in to performance mode. Music is very useful for getting into a certain frame of mind. When we rehearse, they run the opening titles and the theme music triggers something. Then when the red light is on the camera, my mind switches on.

'I have to think fast and remember a lot of facts. I get given a running order, but there’s no script and no autocue. With a live event there are key points that have to be very tight and someone is counting in my ear all the time. It’s quite draining. Last year’s boat race took me a week to get over it.'

As well as her presenting career, Clare has just released her memoir, entitled My Animals And Other Family.

Speaking about writing the book, Clare said: 'Nothing has connected me to other people as much as writing my book. It’s a memoir rather than an autobiography and I wanted to make people think about their own childhood; their relationship with animals and their brother or father, and the things they were insecure about at school.

'I absolutely wept when I was writing - at the animals dying mainly. I enjoyed writing about my grandma. She was a strong woman who said extraordinary things, like, when I was born, "Oh, it’s a girl. Never mind, just keep trying." '


To read the interview in full, see the June issue of Woman & Home out now, plus digital edition available on all tablets. Clare’s book My Animals And Other Family (Penguin) is out now


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2318732/Clare-Balding-went-school-misfit-TVs-golden-girl.html#ixzz2SEsnsHY1