Clare Balding 'Devastated' Over Mortifying TV Moment as She Admits 'I've Tried Too Hard'
Presenter Clare Balding has opened up about some of the regretful mistakes she's made on television, ahead of her return to front coverage at the annual dog show Crufts this week. Reflecting on blunders from her career, the broadcaster admitted she was particularly embarrassed by one she made on Celebrity Traitors last year, which left her feeling 'devastated' and caused her to lose her nerve.
The 'Lever-Gate' Uproar on Celebrity Traitors
As part of a challenge on the BBC show, Clare mistakenly pulled a lever too soon, costing her team thousands of pounds in prize money. After realising her error, she quickly apologised but was later accused of being a Traitor and banished from the programme. Looking back at what she dubbed the 'lever-gate' uproar, Balding said taking part taught her three important life lessons.
'I've learnt many things about myself and the one thing is I should probably read instructions or listen to them,' she shared. 'The second is being fast doesn't always mean being right and the third is you can't fix everything all of the time and just don't always feel like you have to pull the lever.'
Losing Her Nerve and Battling Self-Criticism
Following the backlash over her mistake, Clare admitted she 'shrank' and 'backed off' during the next two missions out of fear she would mess up again. Speaking to Good Housekeeping UK magazine, she added: 'I felt dreadful and you could see me battering myself for it, not just in that, and I think it made me lose my nerve.'
Sharing how she deals with such on-air errors, the presenter explained her positive outlook. 'Going back to that point about making mistakes and forgiving yourself for making mistakes, it showed me all too clearly - and it's happened before, I've done things on air and have said things I wished I never said - you lose your nerve completely,' she revealed. 'And how you regain it is actually what teaches you something about your own character.'
Honesty and Repairing the Damage
She went on to say: 'You have to be honest and put your hands up and say, 'I've made a mistake, I'm really sorry' and mean it. With that [Celebrity Traitors error] as an example, totally straight away and you could see it, I was devastated. And then you try and repair things slowly, I've probably tried too hard to repair things.'
Aside from the mishap, Clare said she enjoyed taking part in the show but has ruled out appearing on any other reality programmes. Strictly Come Dancing, in particular, is a definite no for the host - following a warning from her wife, Alice Arnold.
No More Reality TV After Wife's Ultimatum
Previously discussing being offered a slot on the show, she said on Alison Hammond's Smart TV podcast: 'Alice has very strong feelings about this. When the request came through she said, 'You can say yes to that if you like, but I won't be here when you come back'.'
Coverage of Crufts, held at Birmingham's NEC, kicks off today at 3pm on Channel 4, with Balding hoping to avoid any further on-air blunders as she returns to her hosting duties.
