Clare Fordham
The YHA has been central to some of the great experiences of Clare’s life.
She’s stayed in the cities and the country, in dorms, family rooms, pods and camping. She’s hired whole hostels or bunked in with everyone else. She’s had moments of wonder at Black Sail, and moments of embarrassment at National Forest when she set off the smoke alarm with a pizza and the whole place had to evacuate.
Clare is married with three teenage daughters. She’s a keen walker, and a slow but enthusiastic trail runner. She is often to be found on the moors near her home in Ramsbottom, failing to focus her binoculars in time, and missing yet another bird.
Clare has worked in both television and radio news for over 25 years, enjoying time in both commercial and BBC newsrooms. She spent eight years travelling across Britain, Northern Ireland and further afield at ITV News, before moving across to the BBC. She’s currently the editor of all daytime programmes on BBC Radio 5 Live, looking after a range of high profile presenters, holding power to account, and making sure the listeners are entertained and informed.
Clare is used to high-profile news projects; she’s planned award-winning news stories involving NASA, the Duchess of Cornwall and Downing Street, as well as masterminding programming throughout the pandemic.
Clare is passionate about finding and celebrating unheard voices and hearing untold stories. She takes great pride in her involvement with efforts to reach diverse audiences and bring a far broader range of perspectives to the programmes.
As a trustee of the Bury Voluntary Community and Faith Alliance, Clare has gained great insight into the rewards and challenges facing smaller local charities, the huge importance of volunteers, and engaging communities to help themselves. She finds this rewarding and really humbling too.