Television presenter Clare Balding has married her partner of 14 years . The 44-year-old said she and Alice Arnold returned to the register office where their civil partnership ceremony was held in 2006 . This time they did not have a ceremony at Chiswick House , West London , nor did they invite any guests . Balding said she and Alice Arnold ( right ) returned to the register office where their civil partnership ceremony was held in 2006 . Miss Balding told the Daily Telegraph : ‘ They just backdate it to when you did your civil partnership , so officially now we have been married since 2006 . We didn ’ t have a big party at all actually , nobody came apart from us. ’ Miss Balding has always made clear her intentions to marry once gay marriage became legal in the UK . ‘ We will convert , ’ she said . ‘ I don ’ t know when yet . It is a conversion , a piece of paper . It is not an all-singing , all-dancing event but it is terribly important . ‘ The next thing is to be able to say “ married ” and have people , businesses , ask what your husband or wife does without assuming you are straight or gay . ‘ Alice and I are very , very happy and we go to a lot of things together . We are conscious of the responsibility we have [ as a high-profile gay couple ] and are quite happy to embrace it. ’ Former BBC newsreader Miss Arnold , 53 , has written in several newspapers in support of the legalisation of gay marriage . Clare Balding on the Jonathan Ross Show with Kylie Minogue and Bear Grylls . She said : ‘ That one word “ married ” is crucial because it defines our relationship . The way we see ourselves and the way we wish others to see us. ’ Miss Balding studied English at Cambridge University before following family tradition and heading into the racing profession . She was awarded an OBE in 2013 for services to broadcasting and journalism . The couple live in West London with their Tibetan terrier , Archie .
The 44-year-old has tied the knot with Alice Arnold in London , Chiswick . The pair did not have a ceremony , nor did they invite any guests . Balding made clear her intentions to marry once gay marriage was legal .