BBC's Clare Balding sparks 'classism row' as fans blast 'incredulous' Olympics remark to Rebecca Adlington

Balding, 53, is among the key faces of the BBC covering the current Olympic Games 2024 from Paris. The broadcaster is often joined by former athletes and experts as she delves into Team GB's performances.

In a recent conversation, Balding was joined by former Olympic swimmers Adlington, 35 and Mark Foster, 54.

Discussing the legacy of David Wilkie, the first British champion to win a gold medal for swimming at the 1976 Montreal Games, Foster shared the key things that inspired as a child.

He detailed how Duncan Goodhew had visited his swimming club when he was 10 years old, which prompted him to follow in his footsteps.

"It was that little moment that inspired me," he recalled before going on to ask Adlington if she'd had a similar experience.

"To be fair I didn't have somebody like that," she replied, to which a surprised Balding asked: "No one came to your school?"

As Adlington answered: "No, no," a sympathetic-sounded Balding asked: "Is that why you make sure you do what you do?"

"You end up doing your hobby and you love it," the gold medallist responded.

Some fans were unhappy with Balding's response to Adlington, with many taking to X to express their annoyance.

"Because of course Balding thought it TOTALLY NORMAL for Olympic medal winners to visit schools because being privately educated and descended from nobility and privilege this kind of thing is part of the cultural experience they expect," one person fumed.

Another wrote: "Perfect example [of classism] on #BBCOlympics this week, Clare Balding astonished that Rebecca Adlington didn’t have an Olympian visit her school. Genuinely couldn’t believe it."

"Working class kids are never exposed to successful people because it is so much harder for working class kids to get access to the time, money, contacts and resources," another wrote.

Someone else added: "Of course Balding was incredulous, because she was exposed to this cultural capital and experience from birth. Her surprise was because of exposure to an experience not her own, but normal to 95% of the country..."

Some defended Balding though, with one writing: "My old state school was visited by Olympians (funnily enough it’s right next to Clare balding’s house so she was 100% aware). I am also pretty positive that my private school I attended later never had an Olympian visit ahah. Ofc anecdotal, but there we go."

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"I'm head of a state primary. This year alone, we’ve had visits from Clare Balding, Frank Cottrell-Boyce and several other authors and poets. We’ve previously had Olympians and Paralympians. These visits are not solely arranged by private schools and are open to everyone," another shared.

Balding's colleague Gabby Logan was among those to defend the presenter as she chimed in on the X thread, stating: "I'm sure lots of what you say may be true about private school experiences, but it’s certainly not true about the whole of the BBC.

"I went to a state school nobody visited, teachers were striking in the Eighties, and no school trips. NB ‘Speakers for Schools’ is a great charity.

"Also to be clear I love my colleague and she’s a great broadcaster. But a sweeping statement about the BBC needed addressing.

"Look at our OG line up across the day, we are a mixed bag from different backgrounds bringing all our many experiences to the way we communicate."

GB News has approached Balding's representatives and the BBC for a comment.