Colin Murray has been at the helm of Countdown over the past couple of years. But before that, Colin was the host of a couple of sporting broadcasts including TalkSport and their rival 5Live’s Fighting Talk.
However, his time discussing sports wasn’t all smooth sailing. In fact, the host ended up swapping his role on 5Live for a spot on TalkSport after he was met with a swarm of backlash due to a remark made about beloved broadcast journalist Clare Balding.
Since then, Colin has expressed just how “upsetting” the fallout from the comment was.
Countdown host Colin Murray talks Clare Balding remark
On Colin’s final episode of 5Live’s fighting talk in 2012, comedian Bob Mills made a comment about Clare Balding, which was later labelled as “homophobic bullying”.
He proposed during a debate about Clare’s sexuality: “Give me 20 minutes with her and I’m pretty sure I could turn around Clare Balding.”
According to reports, Colin claimed the statement was “mockery of idiot views” in a round called Defend The Indefensible. However, the punchline definitely fell flat. It even prompted out-roar in the Liverpool Echo Arena from where the show was broadcast live.
Ofcom also raked in 19 complaints about the remark. And the BBC was forced to apologise.
Mills even described Clare as a “horse woman” who “appreciates power between her thighs”. He added: “And we all know, there is no woman that can’t be cured.”
I never said I could turn Clare Balding, I never made that statement.
Colin responded to the backlash at the time on X, formerly known as Twitter. He responded to an offended listener: “We try to be closer to the line than most shows. And there is always a risk with that. We are 100% live so balancing act.”
He added in a later tweet: “But playing everything safe is also [the] death of a show.”
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In 2013, Colin reflected about the incident in an interview with The Guardian: “Do I think it was over the line? I do think it was over the line. The minute I said it, the second I said it, you know as a presenter, everyone on the team knew, [bleep], that was over the line. It was just too much.”
He went on to insist that the debate was not about Clare Balding’s sexuality. Colin explained: “What neanderthal would have a debate on Clare Balding’s sexuality? What about the truth? I would love to have said: ‘I didn’t see it before it went on air and we take responsibility as a team, this is how we messed up.’ But there was no place for me to do that.
“The thing is, it’s not me, I can handle it, I know what happened. But you’ve no idea how it affects your mum, that people are coming up to her and going: ‘He says he can turn Clare Balding.’ I never said I could turn Clare Balding, I never made that statement. It’s hugely upsetting.”
Colin went on holiday the day after the incident. And, he revealed, he later talked to Clare about it, insisting “Clare and I don’t have a problem”.
Read more: Countdown star Colin Murray splits from wife of 11 years after ‘work pushed them apart’
Catch Colin on Countdown weekdays on Channel 4 at 2.15pm.
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