July 30th 2024.
Viewers of the BBC were taken aback when they thought they heard veteran sports broadcaster Clare Balding make an X-rated slip up while covering the Olympics. This caused quite a stir, with some viewers doing a double take and others sharing the clip on social media for all to see.
Clare has been the face of BBC's Olympic coverage for the past seven games and has been stationed in Paris to lead the three-week-long event. She has been keeping viewers up to date on all the latest results and even covered the swimming events at La Defense Arena.
But it was on Monday evening when Clare introduced a feature on Team GB's Tom Pidcock that things took a surprising turn. Tom had just won a gold medal in the men's cross-country mountain biking after a nail-biting race that saw him make an incredible comeback. However, when Clare mentioned his name, some viewers thought they heard her say "Big" instead of "Pid" in his last name.
This sparked a flurry of reactions on social media, with some viewers jokingly questioning if someone had messed with the autocue. Even celebrities like Robbie Williams and Kate Beckinsale got in on the fun, with Kate declaring her pride in being British and invested in the Olympics.
This isn't the first time Clare has made headlines for her on-air gaffes. During the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, she made a hilarious innuendo while interviewing Team GB swimmers Tom Dean and Matt Richards. Her comment about Richards' "incredible third leg" left the men trying to hold back their laughter, while viewers couldn't contain their amusement.
Despite the speculation and jokes about her supposed slip-up, Clare has not commented on the incident. And while some viewers may have replayed the clip multiple times to confirm what they thought they heard, others simply shrugged it off with a simple "oops."
Whether or not there was actually a slip-up, one thing is for sure – Clare Balding's coverage of the Olympics always keeps viewers on their toes and entertained. And who knows, maybe she'll have another unexpected moment in the remaining days of the games. As they say, anything can happen in live television.
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