Clare Balding

Either way, over the course of this series, I'll open your eyes to the real story of a titan of women's tennis who looked set to take down the house, and the story of one of the strangest and most shocking crimes that the world of sport has ever seen.

I'm Clare Balding, and this is Sport's Strangest Crimes, Tennis' Darkest Hour.

Episode 1, The Little Peanut.

It's the 30th of April 1993, and in Germany's second-biggest city, Hamburg, people are spilling out of work and walking along the waterways that give the city its nickname, the Venice of the North.

Things have got a bit easier already, which is great.

My brother's now... happy to be in communication so things have got better um and hopefully they can just improve from here as long as i don't put my foot in it which um believe it or not i do do you know from time to time and i'm still waiting to hear whether claire balding is happy to meet me, that would be good.

And I would be interviewing her in Chichester.

I don't know if she's well-known in other countries.

And she's the kind of person that if you had your perfect dinner party, you know, you would want Stephen Fry.

And you would want...

Kate Middleton, I suspect, and you absolutely want Claire Balding.

She's just a real sweetheart, intelligent, kind, lovely, funny, brilliant, professional, but yet warm.

It's worth a conversation, isn't it?

I think it, it, for me, it hinges on the involvement of Claire Balding.

I think if she's involved, this just goes, this is another level of forfeit.

Mm-hmm.

I remember I had a big conversation.

There's a sports commentator in the UK called Claire Balding.

It's amazing.

She covers everything.

There's young adults book chat, social crime writers panel, an evening with Anthony Seldon, horticultural experts discussion panel, spy novels, fact or fiction, author talk, debut authors, drink party and the authors that you might have heard of.

I've just mentioned Sir Anthony Selden, but also Claire Balding and Callie Coles.

You can find out more at cobhambooks.com. There's all the events, the venues, the times.

Have a look there and get booking.

Yeah.

Is this the one you and Clare Balding are always going on about?

Well, I don't know if me and Clare Balding are always...

We might be-

You are

And then Cowboy Douglas.

He went, Claire!

Claire! My legs are killing me, Claire!

Oh, come on, Dominic.

You need revitalising.

You're too fat.

You're too fat.

And they want Claire Balding.

I like Gabby.

She keeps us, or Claire Balding.

She keeps us kind of grounded.

Okay.