TV presenter Gabby Logan has stepped in to defend BBC Olympics colleague Clare Balding after a comment she made sparked some controversy.
The incident occurred during the BBC’s coverage of the swimming at Paris’ La Defense Arena this week.
While in conversation with two-time gold medallist Rebecca Adlington, Clare expressed her shock that the decorated swimmer had not met any Olympic competitors as a child.
“What? No [Olympians] visited your school?” she said in disbelief.
Clare Balding criticised
Clare’s comment was hit by backlash, with one viewer taking to social media to comment: “Watching the Olympic swimming last night and Clare Balding said something in such an incredulous tone which summed up the establishment perspective and how their experience differs.”
about #class #privilege and #privateeducation. Watching the Olympic swimming last night and Clare Balding said something in such an incredulous tone which summed up the establishment perspective and how their experience differs. 1/
— Barry (@bazhsw8183) July 28, 2024
“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,” they went on. “Whereas if you go to an ordinary secondary school you’re lucky if you get a day out at the end of the year.
“It also shows that Balding’s peers in sport, in the media, at the BBC, in her friends and family would all have the same experience because they are all part of the same club, who think this is normal,” they added.
‘It’s certainly not true’
However, fellow pundit Gabby Logan jumped in to share her own thoughts on the matter.
“I’m sure lots of what you say may be true about private school experiences,” she responded. “But it’s certainly not true about the whole of the BBC. I went to a state school nobody visited, teachers were striking in the 80s, and no school trips.
“Also to be clear I love my colleague and she’s a great broadcaster. But a sweeping statement about the BBC needed addressing.”
She continued: “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.”
Read More: Clare Balding on how she ‘nearly killed’ Princess Anne: ‘I think she’s forgiven me’
Clare and Gabby present the BBC’s coverage of the Olympics across BBC One and Two.
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