Clare Balding ‘slightly embarrassed’ by national treasure status

Sunday, October 28, 2012
11:21 AM

TV presenter Clare Balding has admitted she does not know how to react when people refer to her as a national treasure because it deflects attention away from the sports stars she is commentating on.

She gained a huge new following after hosting coverage of the London Olympic and Paralympic games earlier this year.

But in an interview with Attitude magazine, she said: “I’m not sure about national treasure. It’s slightly odd.

“I don’t know how I’m meant to react. It’s alright when you’re a sportsman or sportswoman and you’ve won a medal. You’ve achieve something that nobody can dispute.

“But I think if you were just a conduit to that I’s just an objective thing as to whether people enjoyed your input or not.

“I’m thrilled that quite a lot of people enjoyed it but I believe a lot of this is reflected glory. I’m slightly embarrassed that I’m deflecting attention away from the athletes.”