Competition – Win Clare Balding’s New Book

Clare Victoria Balding OBE (born 29 January 1971) is a BBC television presenter, journalist and retired amateur jockey. She is one of the channel’s highest-profile personalities and currently presents for BBC Sport, Channel 4, BT Sport and the religious/spiritual programme Good Morning Sunday on BBC Radio 2.

She became a trainee with BBC National Radio in 1994, working on 5 Live, Radio 1 (presenting the sport on the Chris Evans Breakfast Show), Radio 2 and Radio 4. In June 1995, she made her debut as a television presenter, introducing highlights of Royal Ascot. The following year she began presenting live, and in December 1997 she became the BBC’s lead horse racing presenter after the retirement of Julian Wilson, and has fronted coverage of the Grand National.

Balding has reported from five Olympic Games, for BBC Radio in Atlanta and for BBC Television in Sydney, Athens, Beijing and London. She has presented two Paralympic Games, the Winter Olympics from Turin, Vancouver and Sochi as well as the Commonwealth Games from Melbourne, Delhi and Glasgow. She is the face of the BBC’s rugby league coverage, having presented Grandstand from a Rugby League Challenge Cup semi-final, and having been so impressed by the vibrancy and physical challenge of the sport she asked to cover further rugby league events. She was the last person to present Sunday Grandstand.

She also presents the Lord Mayor’s Show as well as other live events for the BBC, such as Trooping the Colour and New Year’s Eve. In March 2010 she presented Channel Four’s coverage of Crufts.

She also presents the walking programme Ramblings for BBC Radio 4 (where she also stands-in on the Saturday Live programme), and Wimbledon for 5 Live.

During the 2009 Grand National, Balding commented on winning jockey Liam Treadwell’s teeth and suggested that he could “get them done” with his prize fund. The BBC received 1,477 complaints about the comment, leading to an apology from both the presenter and the BBC.

In 2010, Balding presented a BBC TV series that retraced some of Harold Briercliffe’s British cycle tours. She joined Chris Evans as co-host of Channel 4′s Famous and Fearless in January 2011. That show has since been cancelled because of poor ratings.

In August 2011 Balding joined BBC’s Countryfile, temporarily replacing Julia Bradbury while she was on maternity leave, co-hosting the show with Matt Baker. Bradbury returned in February 2012.

From February to March 2012 she presented “Sport and the British” on BBC Radio 4, a thirty-part series looking at the impact of sports on British life.

Balding was a lead presenter on Channel 4′s Paralympics TV coverage. In August 2012 it was reported that Balding would be presenting Channel 4′s racing coverage, while still retaining an option to work for the BBC on non-racing programmes such as rugby league.

In October 2012, she appeared before an All Party Parliamentary Group on Women’s Sport, with Katherine Grainger, Hope Powell and Tanni Grey-Thompson. “Women having freedom to play sport leads directly to women having political freedom,” said Balding.

She has served as one of the presenters on BBC Sports Personality of the Year. She is the new regular presenter of ‘Good Morning Sunday’ on BBC Radio 2 taking over from Aled Jones. Balding is the presenter of Britain’s Brightest, which began in January 2013 – ‘Ordinary people with extraordinary minds face a series of nail-biting challenges and demanding puzzles as they battle to become crowned as Britain’s Brightest’.

In March 2013 she anchored Channel 4′s coverage of the Cheltenham Festival.

Balding was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2013 Birthday Honours for services to broadcasting and journalism.

To enter here to win Clare Balding’s New book, just answer the question below:

What is Clare Balding’s latest book called?

Competition Closes 27th November 2014