Her regular appearances on daytime television, including ITV’s This Morning, have seen Claire break barriers by becoming the first blind person to lead a cooking lifestyle segment.
What has been the best moment of your career?
Robbie Williams singing to me was amazing. But, nothing fills my heart with more love than getting messages from people saying that because of me they were able to do things to go out and use their cane, go and buy make–up, or just have the confidence to step outside their front door. That’s my reason to keep doing what I’m doing.
What’s your greatest strength?
My determination. For so long I let my sight loss stop me from living life – I love going to concerts but I just wouldn’t go out for a few years. I felt like a burden, and I regret that, so now that feeds my determination. I put myself in situations that I wouldn’t have, I grab opportunities I would never have taken.
What is your TV guilty pleasure?
I can’t believe I’m going to say this out loud, but watching Hannah Montana with my daughter.
What’s the biggest misconception about blindness?
People don’t realise that being blind is a huge spectrum. The minute you tell someone you’re blind, they assume you can’t see anything at all. Less than 10 per cent of people registered blind see nothing. The rest of us have light perception, colour, shadow - that kind of thing. It’s trying to break those stereotypes, like sunglasses; people say ‘you’re not wearing sunglasses, you’re not blind’. We don’t all wear them!
Who was your hero growing up?
My mum. I’m one of four and Mum was at home a lot with us while Dad worked. In my late teens, she got diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa (RP), then cervical cancer, and I saw her resilience. I learned a huge lesson from her. Her RP laid dormant for 22 years, but she wasn’t allowed to drive at night as she had night blindness, and hearing her say: ‘it’s life, we’ve just got to get on with it’ gave me that mentality because I wanted my daughter to look at me and think no matter what life throws at you, you just get on with it.
Describe yourself in three words...
Physically short, mentally bubbly, and emotionally sensitive.
What’s the most used app on your phone?
Seeing AI. It’s my eyes. I use the short text feature when I go grocery shopping. It’s not perfect – so if you’re next to an Old El Paso fajita kit, it might say El Paso Jita kit – but I’ve got used to the way it works. It’s got a document reader, so when my post comes through in an inaccessible format, I can scan it and it will read it to me, it can detect colours, currency – it’s amazing.
What’s your signature dish?
When I was losing my sight, I practised my daughter’s favourite meal, a chicken pasta dish, and it’s safe to say I could do it with my eyes closed! I don’t need to measure, I can just chuck it in and know it will come out right.
What do you do to cheer yourself up after a bad day?
Every morning when I wake up, I tell myself, ‘you’ve got three choices; you can either give up, give in, or give it your all’. Every now and then we all have bad days, so if I’m having a pity party, I give it my all – I lay on the sofa, binge watch true crime and devour the biggest bag of Revels I can find. That, or I would put on an awesome playlist and sing super badly in the shower.
Do you have a secret talent?
I have a really good sense of direction. Even without my sight I rarely get lost.
