David Cameron picks Clare Balding over Alan Turing as the gay person he most admires

Prime Minister said although he thought Alan Turing was an 'amazing' man, he was a 'big fan' of Balding

Clare Balding is apparently the LGBT figure the PM most admires (GETTY, AFP)

David Cameron has said Clare Balding is his gay person he admires the most.

The Conservative Prime Minister made the disclosure during an interview with Attitude magazine in which he discussed which LGBT person he most admired.

Despite telling the magazine World War Two codebreaker Alan Turing was an “amazing man,” the PM claimed he was a “big fan” of the sports presenter.

The PM claimed he had chosen her as “it doesn’t matter what sport she’s talking about, she can make it interesting. She’s a wonderful human being.”

After leaving school, Balding studied English at Cambridge University before following a family tradition and heading into the racing profession.

Her father, Ian Balding, was a professional horse trainer – his winners including Mill Reef – and illustrious relatives include the 17th Earl of Huntingdon (a maternal uncle) who once trained the Queen’s horses.

After racing as an amateur jockey from 1988 to 1993, Balding started her broadcasting career when she joined the BBC in 1994. Since then she has become a well-known face on British television.

The presenter, who entered into a civil partnership with newsreader Alice Arnold in 2006, was awarded an OBE in the 2013 Birthday Honours for services to broadcasting and journalism.