Crufts is back, with 'The World's Greatest Dog Show' attracting scores of dog lovers and owners to The NEC Birmingham for four days of four-legged fun. Every year, people across the world enjoy watching the action from the comfort of their own homes as all of the main arena and obedience ring happenings are televised on Channel 4 and YouTube.
Spearheading the televised Crufts operations is Clare Balding, who will be returning to the NEC for her thirteenth year of broadcasting after last year's event was cancelled. Crufts 2021 was postponed to July due to restrictions in March, but The Kennel Club then announced it would not be going ahead in the summer.
Clare, who has been very vocal about her love of dogs over the years, has been the broadcasting face of many major sporting events. From Wimbledon to the Olympics, you'd be hard pushed to find someone who has not watched a sporting occasion hosted by Clare.
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Born on January 29, 1971, Clare is the daughter of top horse trainer Ian Balding, who mostly trained horses for flat races. She was privately educated at Downe House, where she was classmates with her tenth-cousin, comedian Miranda Hart, and was head girl.
After completing her education at Downe House, Clare began reading English at Cambridge University's Newnham College, after failing her Christ's College interview to study law and having a change of heart. She graduated in 1993, with a 2:1 honours degree.
The following year, Clare made her breakthrough into broadcasting. She became a trainee with BBC National Radio, and worked on a number of high profile radio stations, including Radio One, where she presented sport on the Chris Evans' Breakfast Show. In 1998, she became the face of the BBC's horse racing coverage, after Julian Wilson retired.
Clare has become a prime figure in Olympic broadcasting, and has now reported from seven Olympic Games for both radio (Atlanta) and television (Sydney, Athens, Beijing, London, Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo). In addition to this, Clare has also added four Paralympic Games, six Winter Olympic Games, and four Commonwealth Games to her broadcasting belt over the years.
Aside from her passionate sports coverage, Clare has reported from major events in the Royal Family's calendar. Events covered by Clare include Trooping the Colour, the Queen's Royal Pageant and the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
For her services to broadcasting and journalism, Clare was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2013 Birthday Honours. The year before, she published her first book - 'My Family and Other Animals' - which was a Sunday Times Bestseller and was translated into three other languages.
As for her personal life, Clare resides in London with her wife, Alice and their cats. The couple has featured on Celebrity Gogglebox.
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