Clare Balding says starring on Gogglebox with her wife Alice Arnold has helped challenge perceptions of same-sex relationships

Clare Balding has shared that starring on Gogglebox with her partner Alice Arnold has helped challenge perceptions of same-sex relationships. 

The TV presenter, 55, and her wife joined the cast of the popular Channel 4 series back in 2021 and have become fan favourites with viewers. 

Discussing how it has helped move the conversation on same-sex relationships forward she told Saga Magazine: 'It's great being able to do that programme together. 

'There is real impact in showing that two women can live very happily together.' 

She added: 'Of course, in changing the status of single-sex relationships, politics matters, law matters, marches matter, but there is soft power in showing people what our relationship is about, what it looks like and what it sounds like. 

'We get an extraordinary amount of positive feedback across all age groups for that.' 

The couple met in 1999 when Alice was a Radio 4 announcer and newsreader. 

They became friends first, as they were both with partners, before their own relationship began and progressed. 

She and Alice married in 2015, but while those close to them knew they were a couple, they did not go public at first. 

Clare also opened up about depicting a loving relationship in her new novel Pastures New. 

She told the publication: 'I wanted to write about falling in love because I thought, "I know that". 

'I know what real, deep love is and meeting someone I want to grow old with.' 

Earlier this year Clare shared her hopes of slowing down and being more 'present' at home with her wife Alice, following her 30-year career in broadcasting.

The presenter has dedicated her life and soul to television and radio for three incredible decades.

She kick-started her career as a trainee with BBC National Radio in 1994 and made her TV debut covering Royal Ascot a year later.

In the many years that followed, Clare has fronted major sporting and royal events – from Wimbledon to the Olympics.

She told the Daily Mail: 'I do far less work now than I did in my forties, thirties and twenties. But I hope it's better quality as I work smarter and I can combine things. If I've got to do book events, I'll tie it in with something else.

'I wish I'd learned the art of enjoying the moment sooner, that is something that I am really so much better at now.

'And taking time and appreciating what's around me and wanting to be home more, to be honest.

'I mean, I love my work and I love the variety of my work, but I also am very appreciative and better at being present.

'Maybe that's something that always comes with age, you'd be a pretty unusual teenager if you could do that, I think.'

When she does get to take a moment for herself, Clare enjoys playing golf with her wife Alice, walking, going to Pilates and reading plenty of books.

'The sun is shining today, I'm going to make sure I'm out,' she insisted. 'I'm literally about to go and play nine holes of golf because I can fit that in between other things.'