Clare Balding has spoken out after a journalist, Ginny Dougary, claimed that her interview with the presenter for Saga magazine was altered drastically after Clare and her agent demanded copy approval. Taking to Twitter to deny claims that she had changed the feature, Clare wrote: "Re the Saga saga, today has been an exercise in self-restraint. The editor has issued a statement clarifying that she asked for changes and I did not have copy approval. I would certainly never ask anyone to call me 'lovely'. Gorgeous maybe - but never lovely! #Sagasaga."
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Clare took to Twitter to discuss the allegations
Ginny Dougary had taken to The Guardian's website to write about her experience, explaining: "After 35 years as a journalist, I experienced two firsts last week. One was that I asked for my byline to be removed from an interview I had written, which was a direct consequence of the other first: the subject of my interview being given, without my prior knowledge, copy control and – in a breathtaking liberty – removing sections of my interview and replacing them with her own, self-promoting, words."
Clare denied having copy approval
Calling Clare an "insecure diva", Ginny alleged that the star's agent had added sections to the article, referring to the 46-year-old's new book and her hosting the women's European football championships. Twitter users were quick to discuss the controversy, with one writing: "Fascinating article by Ginny Dougary alleging Clare Balding & agent forced changes to interview Dougary did with Balding for Saga magazine." Journalists also shared their own experience with copy approval, with one writing: "One Oscar winner told me her fave programme is Glee. I thought it made her sound normal/human. Her people made mag replace with something highbrow."