Gabby Logan has defended both colleague Clare Balding and the BBC, after the presenter was accused of making an 'incredulous' statement live on air.
Last on dity for the BBC at Euro 2024, Gabby was championed by many viewers as the channel's 'best', despite the fact that, while she was on screen a lot during the tournament in Germany, it was co-star Gary Lineker who was chosen to host all the big matches, including all of England's games and the final.
Gabby is in the BBC's team for the Paris Olympics and, as she had a break from anchoring coverage from Paris, she responded to criticism levelled at Clare, who was the presenter at the helm for the opening ceremony on Friday and has also taken charge of sports like swimming over the last few days.
READ MORE: Clare Balding halts BBC Olympics for 'serious' update on missing star
Get all the latest TV and showbiz news and gossip from Chronicle Live with our free newsletter
And it was a comment made to ex Olympic swimmer turned BBC pundit Rebecca Adlington that landed Clare in hot water. Chatting to two time gold medallist, Clare appeared shocked when Rebecca told her that Olympic swimmers had never been to her school. And, reacting to the tone of Clare's response, one unimpressed viewer took to X to write: "Watching the Olympic swimming last night and Clare Balding said something in such an incredulous tone which summed up the establishment perspective and how their experience differs.
Adding, that Clare's 'single statement said so much,' the critic continued: "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. Whereas if you go to an ordinary secondary school you're lucky if you get a day out at the end of the year.
Taking aim at the BBC and its other presenters, they added: "It also shows that Balding's peers in sport, in the media, at the BBC, in her friends and family would all have the same experience because they are all part of the same club, who think this is normal."
The remarks didn't go unnoticed by Gabby, who was quick to issue a direct reply to the original poster, writing: "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 80’s, and no school trips. NB ‘Speakers for Schools’ is great charity."
She then added: "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."
Join our WhatsApp communities
ChronicleLive is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our communities.
We have a number of communities to join, so you can choose which one you want to be part of and we'll send you the latest news direct to your phone. You could even join them all!
To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is choose which community you want to join, click on the link and press 'join community'.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.
If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.
Join the ChronicleLive Breaking News and Top Stories community
Join our Court & Crime community
Join the Things to do in Newcastle and the North East community
Join our Northumberland community
