Celebrity Traitors star Clare Balding lost 1.5 stone with one simple change

Clare Balding, a star of the Celebrity Traitors series, once shed more than a stone with a simple fitness change. Balding is one of the BBC’s most respected broadcasters, hosting multiple Olympics, including last year’s Games in Paris.

Away from the camera, she has embarked on an impressive weight loss journey, crediting a significant change in her daily routine for her success. Balding, who is married to fellow broadcaster Alice Arnold, 63, adopted walking as her primary form of exercise, achieving an impressive 12,000 steps a day.

This, combined with playing golf, contributed significantly to her losing 1.5 stone. She told BBC Radio 4: “I know how much the walking helps me because it gets you out for quite a long time. It’s not a painful sort of exercise; you don’t feel like you're suffering. And it’s a great way to get to know your local area.”

On her Instagram page, where she has chronicled her walks, she has spoken of the “healing power of the great outdoors” while describing her countryside rambles as both “exhilarating and exhausting.” She had previously spoken about the turning point that led her to focus on her well-being during an interview with Good Housekeeping in 2014.

She said: “I got a bit lazy about it and then my mother said something. That always wakes you up a bit.

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“Sometimes you do need a kick up the bum, and I think I did. I wasn't feeling great last summer, and I thought it would be a good time to start eating more salads, fruits and rice cakes.

“The main thing is I walk like crazy. I walk the dog every day for an hour in the morning and 40 minutes in the evening. I walk at 4mph, which is pretty quick.

“I also play golf and go to the gym occasionally with Alice, but not often, as I’m not a member. I do lots of special sit-ups, too, which my sister-in-law showed me. They really hurt!

“I’m not obsessed about losing weight, but I feel so much healthier. It can be depressing to go shopping when you're not the size you want to be, so it’s much more fun now.”

Celebrity Traitors, which begins on Wednesday night, will see Balding joined by 18 other famous faces, including singer Paloma Faith, gather in the Scottish Highlands for the chance to win up to £100,000 for a charity of their choice. Retired Olympic diver Tom Daley, actor Sir Stephen Fry and Thursday Murder Club star Celia Imrie are also among the competitors.

Joining them are former England rugby player and podcaster Joe Marler, actresses Tameka Empson and Ruth Codd, Welsh singer Charlotte Church, singer Cat Burns and comedians Alan Carr and Nick Mohammed. Rounding out the cast are comedians Lucy Beaumont and Joe Wilkinson, historian David Olusoga, Good Morning Britain presenter Kate Garraway, YouTube star Niko Omilana, Scottish actor Mark Bonnar and presenter Jonathan Ross.

Balding said: “I love the show. Yes, I really find it fascinating, the way group thinking can be influenced. I don’t know whether I can resist that or whether I can influence that, and I’m kind of interested in it from a psychological perspective.

“Also, I really want to see the castle, I want to see the grounds, and I want to meet the peacocks. Genuinely, I think it’s a fascinating programme and it’s like nothing else.”