BBC's Clare Balding says 'it's killing me' as she shares update with wife Alice
Clare Balding, leading the Wimbledon coverage for the BBC this year, has spoken candidly about the challenge she and her partner Alice Arnold are facing after the loss of their beloved Tibetan terrier Archie in 2020. The search for a new canine companion has been spirited but unhurried, as Clare reasons that it's a decision one shouldn't rush into.
Speaking on the Alright, Pet? podcast at the Good Woof festival, the renowned 54-year-old presenter explained why last summer wasn't the ideal time, she said: "Here's the thing about responsible dog ownership, I'm going to be away all this summer doing the Olympics and Paralympics, this is not the time to bring a dog into my life, our life."
She also highlighted that amidst ongoing house renovations—aimed at creating more space and safer environment—it was prudent to wait: "And, we are also doing a big sort of house building project, so that we can move somewhere where we've got a bit more space, we're not close to a road, and we can have doors open all the time."
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Balding remains set on the idea of welcoming a new dog once they have wrapped up their home improvements: "It's killing me not to have a dog right now, but I know it's the right thing to wait," she admitted, reports the Mirror.
During a segment on her Channel 5 show Lost Dog, Found Dog, Clare consulted with a pet loss specialist who offered guidance on adopting another pet after losing one.
Addressing whether bereaved owners should swiftly fill the void with a new pet, the specialist shared: "It's different for everyone, but the most important thing is, it's what's best for the animal you do get."
Clare Balding stressed the significance of involving all family members in the decision to get a new dog, saying: "If you're in a unit that's made up of more than one person, you involve everybody in that decision because it's so so important."
She also cautioned against attempting to replace a deceased dog with an identical breed or name, highlighting the uniqueness of each canine. "And what we often hear is that people try and replace [the dog] with the same breed, the same name, please don't because every dog is unique and has it's own character."
Additionally, Clare emphasised the need for mental preparation when welcoming a new dog into the family after a loss.
In a recent appearance on Good Morning Britain, Clare mentioned that she and her partner Alice were edging closer to becoming dog owners again, but were taking their time with the decision.
Currently, Clare is occupied with presenting live BBC coverage from Wimbledon, and in September, she will embark on a book tour to promote her latest publication.
Alongside Isa Guha, Clare leads the daily Wimbledon coverage on TV, broadcast on BBC One, BBC Two, and available on BBC iPlayer.
Commenting on her involvement, Clare said: "I love being part of such a good team and learning from them about the new players who stepping into the void left by Federer, Nadal and Murray.
"I'm excited to see how Jack Draper can progress and of course see the latest instalment of the Alcaraz/Sinner rivalry. Coco Gauff burst into our consciousness at only 15 when she beat Venus Williams on her Wimbledon debut.
"I'd love to see her reach her first final here and ultimately lift the title. It would be great to see a good run from Katie Boulter and Emma Raducanu."
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Daily Mirror
an hour ago
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Real reason Princess Anne ‘criticised' by United States media for not being ‘fairytale' princess
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Telegraph
an hour ago
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‘Celebrities are just like us – idiots': Ricky Gervais on Extras turning 20
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Across Extras' two series and feature-length Christmas special, A-list guest stars included Samuel L Jackson, Kate Winslet, Ben Stiller, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, George Michael, Daniel Radcliffe, Orlando Bloom, David Bowie, and Robert De Niro. Most played what Gervais and Merchant described as 'twisted' versions of themselves: egomaniacs, oddballs, fantasists, buffoons. 'It wasn't as common at the time to have these A-listers ridiculing themselves,' says Gervais. 'It was before social media – before everyone found out that celebrities are just like us. They're idiots!' But the celebs were, ironically enough, just supporting players to Extras' real lead characters: Andy Millman (Gervais) and best friend Maggie (Ashley Jensen). 'We didn't want it to be, 'look at my celebrity mates,'' says Gervais. 'They had to be bonuses, appendages. Because it was really about a guy who was struggling and selling everything for an ambition.' In the first series, Andy – a film extra and frustrated wannabe actor – scrabbles around film sets for one meagre line of dialogue, sucking up to and putting his foot in it with star names. In the second series, Andy's dreams seemingly come true when he gets his own BBC sitcom. But ratings-chasing compromises – broad gags, funny wigs and catchphrases ('Are you havin' a laugh?') – turn his modicum of celebrity into a series of humiliations. He sells any semblance of artistic integrity to cling on to fame while grumbling to Maggie that he should be higher up the showbiz ladder; that he deserves more respect. 'No matter how successful you are, you'll never be famous enough,' Maggie warns him shortly before he signs up for the ultimate profile-boosting indignity: Celebrity Big Brother. Who's who in Extras Maggie is the heart and conscience of Extras, Andy is the snark and insecurity, and his hilariously useless agent, Darren Lamb (Merchant) is the s--t-for-brains. The tragedy (and all great British sitcoms need a touch of something tragic) comes from the lower rungs of showbiz, a source of imagined desperation. Les Dennis lays his personal and professional woes bare (while also baring his backside) and Shaun Williamson – best known as Barry off EastEnders – plays himself as a down-on-his-luck sad-sack. He's so unable to shake the EastEnders image that even his agent, Darren, calls him Barry and describes him as having 'an undercurrent of tragedy'. Looking back, Gervais remembers an old sketch idea that now feels like a precursor to Extras. It was a Braveheart-like scene, with a Mel Gibson-like star, in which a camera would pan across the battle lines until one extra suddenly asked, 'What time's lunch?' 'Imagine being at the bottom of the pile and ruining it,' says Gervais. 'That was the funny seed.' 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In another episode, Kate Winslet plays herself as a foul-mouthed nun in a Second World War film. She dishes out advice on dirty phone calls and admits that she's only doing a Holocaust drama for an Oscar. 'And then she wins an Oscar for a Holocaust film!' says Gervais, in reference to The Reader (2008). As smart as Extras is – tinkering with multiple levels of the fourth wall and playing out the John Updike quote that 'celebrity is a mask that eats into the face' – Gervais agrees there was some childish glee in getting their A-listers to say and do outrageous things. 'It was famous people behaving badly,' Gervais says. 'That's what it could have been called.' 'The more that these people said that they were interested, the more it became a game of what would be the most unpleasant or funniest version of themselves – the one that was most incongruous with their public image,' says Merchant. He adds: 'Normally, we'd get a tentative yes and we'd write a script with them in mind to see if they were happy. They almost all were. I think Kate Winslet had a couple of lines that were particularly offensive that she wouldn't say, but other than that she was game for it. They were just game for a laugh. There was very little push-back. It was surprisingly easy.' A personal favourite from the first series is Patrick Stewart, who begins by bellowing out a speech from The Tempest then tells Andy about a script he's written himself, in which he controls the world with the power of his mind – a power he mostly uses for making ladies' clothes fall off. ('Even before she can get her knickers back on, I've seen everything ... I've seen it all.') 'One of the most dignified Shakespearian actors in the world talking about knickers,' sniggers Gervais. Another highlight is Ross Kemp, who lies about feats of hard-nuttery ('I headbutted a horse once') and boasts he could batter Vinnie Jones – until Vinnie turns up to show him what being hard is all about. There's a touch of melancholy to Kemp – a wounded, lip-quivering Billy no-mates. 'He was a little bit nervous,' says Gervais. 'He did talk about portraying himself and going too far. He said, 'Well, it's OK if you're Sam Jackson!' He was very conscious and worried about perception. But he still did it!' Les Dennis goes close-to-the-bone The celeb who played the riskiest version of themself was Les Dennis. The episode is daringly close-to-the-bone, portraying the former Family Fortunes host as a washed-up has-been who – between panto performances – showers a much-younger girlfriend with £50 notes and calls up Heat magazine to report celebrity sightings of, well, himself. The lowest moment comes when Les discovers his girlfriend is cheating. 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On the way out, Ricky said, 'How do you feel about the arse shot?' I said, 'What?' He said, 'You'll be naked in the dressing room. Do you want a double?' I said, 'No I'll do it myself.'' When they shot the scene, he wore nothing but a cricket box. 'Ricky said, 'I'm not having Les's offal in my face! I want him to wear something!'' Dennis recalls, laughing. 'There were tea and biscuits around and Ricky picked up the ginger nuts.' Dennis's friends were concerned about him taking the role – they were suspicious that it might be a Brass Eye-type set-up – but Dennis knew he had to do it. 'At the time I was known as 'Les Miserables,'' he says. 'I came out of the Big Brother house and had a lot of stuff going on. People thought I was grumpy, but I just didn't like being invaded by the press. I thought, just go for it and show you've got a sense of humour about all this stuff that's being written.' Dennis came up with lines to ridicule himself even more. For one climactic scene – in bed with a woman he's just pulled – Dennis suggested blurting out his Family Fortunes catchphrase: 'If it's up there, I'll give you the money me-self.' Dennis remembers that Gervais was laughing so much filming the scene that Merchant ordered him off set. 'He said, 'Ricky, you've ruined the take, you've laughed over the dialogue, you've got to go out,'' says Dennis. 'He got thrown out of the room by Stephen.' The role changed the public perception of Dennis and boosted his theatre career. 'They helped me reinvent myself,' he says. Orlando Bloom told us to 'go harder' Dennis wasn't the only celeb insisting they go more extreme. Orlando Bloom told Gervais and Merchant to 'go harder' when he's trying to prove he's a bigger heartthrob than Johnny Depp. 'Orlando Bloom said, 'Go harder, let me go after Johnny Depp harder, make it worse!'' says Gervais. 'Willy Wonka? Johnny w-----r! ' says Bloom, trying to impress Maggie on the set of a courtroom drama. In other ridiculous celebrity appearances, Daniel Radcliffe plays himself as a randy teenager and accidentally flicks an unravelled condom onto Dame Diana Rigg's head. Gervais had to delicately position the condom on Rigg's head himself. 'When Daniel Radcliffe flicks it, we had to get it to land,' says Gervais. 'So, at one point I was putting it over her eye a little bit. I was saying, 'Can you see? Is that alright?' She said, 'Yeah. That's alright.' And I just thought, that's a weird day at work.' Elsewhere, they cast George Michael as a kebab-chomping, joint-smoking troublemaker. The much-treasured singer uses his community service lunch break to scout Hampstead Heath for sexual encounters. 'What a performer,' says Gervais. 'Just willing to be cottaging, smoking a joint, eating a kebab … He'd just done that community service, so we had him in trouble with the police.' In the episode, George is in trouble for fly-tipping a fridge freezer with Annie Lennox. Sting grassed them up to the council. 'Because he's a f----er do-gooder,' says George. Gervais and Merchant were, of course, the new darlings of British comedy at the time. Stars wanted to be involved. 'We had a blank cheque of kudos that we could cash-in,' says Merchant. 'Ronnie Corbett said his grandchildren told him, 'You've got to do this,'' says Gervais. 'And then we've got him in the toilets at the Baftas taking coke! It's mad what they were willing to say and do.' 'Two celebrities turned us down' Gervais and Merchant can only remember two celebs who turned them down. One was Syd Little of Little and Large. 'He read the script and thought it was too much, the swearing or whatever. He was an old family entertainer,' says Gervais. The other was Orville the Duck ventriloquist Keith Harris, who thought the show was some kind of wind-up. 'But I think Ian McKellen said he thought it was a wind-up,' says Gervais. Looking back now, do Gervais and Merchant have favourite celebrity appearances? For Merchant, it's the one and only Robert De Niro, who appears briefly with Merchant in series two. 'We were making the show and kept on referring to Robert De Niro without knowing if he was going to do it,' says Merchant. 'Finally, he gave us an hour. Because of my giant height [6ft 7in] and his relatively normal human size, there's a wide shot where I look three times as big as him – because of the weird perspective. There were conspiracy theories that we were never in the same room. I was like, 'Are you kidding me?! We worked so hard to get me in the same room!'' Merchant adds: 'Ricky was behind the camera and gave me a couple of notes. Robert De Niro said, 'Any notes for me?' We just started laughing! ' Yeah, we're giving you notes!'' Gervais chooses Bowie. 'Working with my hero David Bowie – writing a song with my hero David Bowie – is off the charts.' In the episode, Bowie listens to Andy's complaints about the sitcom, at which point Bowie bursts into his song. Gervais admits it's a bit surreal in contrast to other celebs. 'You meet David Bowie and then he writes a song!' says Gervais. 'It's almost like cheating, that. But it was well done and I think we were allowed. If you've got David Bowie for the day and he's written a song, he's allowed to sing it!' Twenty years on, Gervais is still amused by the idea that their A-listers were – to quote When the Whistle Blows – very much up for having a laugh. 'Surprising,' Gervais says. 'Just surprising that they said yes and then went along with it.'
Spectator
an hour ago
- Spectator
Tim Davie isn't fit to lead the BBC
Those within the BBC might be afraid to say so, but an ex-producer like me has no such qualms: Tim Davie, the BBC's Director-General, isn't cut out for the job. For the good of the BBC, Davie must go. The last few weeks have been painfully bad for Davie. The Masterchef saga, which led to the departure of not one, but both main presenters, is the final nail in the coffin, after blunders over Glastonbury and Gaza. A review of the BBC's February documentary Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone, which was released last week, found the programme had breached editorial guidelines for accuracy, having failed to disclose that its child narrator was the son of a Hamas agricultural official. The review didn't, however, find any breaches of impartiality. The BBC exonerated, then. Except Davie himself wasn't. Because instead of having backed the filmmakers over the row, he and the BBC Chair, Samir Shah, ran for cover as hard as possible and let them take all the incoming flak. The feeling within the BBC is that both Davie and Shah have been hopeless and craven in their response to this saga. The programme was not 'a dagger to the heart' of the BBC's claim to impartiality, as Shah jumped the gun by saying in March. But don't hold your breath for Shah to apologise for those comments, and to reassure filmmakers that, as their boss, he is protecting their backs. Or for Davie to do so. BBC management's main concern has been to put the blame on somebody else. Some hapless line producer will be made to walk the plank – and the independent company that made the film hung out to dry – so they can retain their crowns, as happened at Glastonbury, where the BBC failed to cut the live stream of an act leading an anti-IDF (Israel Defense Forces) chant. Part of the problem stems from Davie's background. As Ben de Pear, director of another film, on Gaza medics, which Channel 4 screened after the BBC refused to show it, said recently: Davie is 'a PR person' who doesn't understand journalism. 'Davie is taking editorial decisions which, frankly, he is not capable of making,' said de Pear. It's hard to fault that analysis: Davie has never made a programme in his life. When he worked in PR, the only thing he is remembered for is his role in helping Pepsi turn their cans blue (sales went up by 0.1 per cent, so that went well). As an ex-BBC producer, I know things would have been different under Davie's predecessors. BBC Chairs like Michael Grade would have been bullish in their defence of their staff. Alasdair Milne resigned as DG rather then let the government walk all over the BBC in the 1980s. Both men had been filmmakers themselves. Unlike Davie, they had served on the front line. They knew what it means to make difficult editorial judgments. And they knew, above all, they would only retain the loyalty of their own staff if they defended them when it was right to do so. Davie doesn't. If things were going fine for the Corporation, having a lightweight at the helm wouldn't matter. But there are some weighty issues the BBC needs to address and is conspicuously failing to do. The BBC strategy over recent years has been to compete with streamers like Netflix and Amazon by producing its own prestige dramas as justification for the licence fee. This strategy has been failing, and licence fee avoidance growing, because it simply does not have the same deep pockets as its rivals. The BBC couldn't even afford the proper shooting of a sequel to Wolf Hall, which should have been a shoo-in. Producer Peter Kosminsky has revealed that many scenes had to be cut because there simply wasn't the money. Instead, the BBC needs to regain its ambition when it comes to factual television. That this can be hugely successful has been shown by both Netflix – their recent Trainwreck series on disasters – and HBO. It also has the signal advantage of having become far, far cheaper. While drama has got absurdly expensive, technology allows documentaries to be shot by just a handful of people these days and edited on a laptop. There is a real and unfulfilled appetite for knowing how others live in our increasingly compartmentalised world. Yet not only is the BBC failing to meet this challenge, Davie seems blithely unaware it's a challenge at all. The BBC's Annual Report last week – top-dressed with bland words that read as if written by AI, like 'Our goal is to deliver outstanding value' – didn't bother even to properly quantify their documentary output. Davie and the BBC are in a unique position to make factual programmes about Britain for a British audience very cheaply, if they wanted to, and secure the corporation's place as a national treasure. But that would need a huge reset to direct resources away from the current dull schedule of occasional marquee drama projects and police procedurals, bulked out with endless repeats ('Who do you think you are kidding Mr Hitler?' – for the thousandth time). It would need a Director-General with vision and drive and the confidence of his staff to make this change. Instead, 100 BBC staff recently wrote to complain about the behaviour of BBC management over the Gaza medics documentary, but had to do so anonymously. It's hardly the sign of a happy organisation. Davie has had five years in post, with nothing to show for his £547,000-a-year salary (executive 'remuneration' is another issue at the BBC that needs addressing). It is simply not enough for Davie to manage decline and deal with the regular upsets which broadcasting, like politics, will always provide; particularly when he is reacting to them so badly. Never has the BBC needed to have a visionary in post more if it is to survive. And never has it had someone so clearly inadequate for the job. Davie needs to go. Not just because of the MasterChef and Gaza and Glastonbury mistakes, but because, in five years, he has shown no vision for the direction the BBC needs to take to reclaim its position as a broadcaster worthy of the licence fee. When the BBC comes to replace Davie, as it soon surely will – and should – perhaps they might choose somebody who's actually made a programme in their lives. Or Netflix will be making 'Trainwreck: The BBC'. Hugh Thomson won the Grierson Award and has been BAFTA-nominated for his series for the BBC
