Claire’s taking over the airwaves in Abu Dhabi

THE dulcet tones of Strabane woman Claire Devine are taking over the airwaves in Abu Dhabi.

Claire has recently been selected out of thousands of applicants to be the new host of Capital Radio UAE.

Capital Radio has been running in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for over 30 years and is very highly regarded for the music and content that is aired to their target audience of westerners living overseas. The station is available on any mobile device around the world and past studio guests at Capital include Tina Turner among others.

Speaking about her appointment Claire explained, “To apply I had to prove I had the right credentials by showing them all the presenting work I had done this far, along with a two minute audio demo. During the third round of interviews, I was told how they really loved my presenting style and technique and they offered me the job on the spot.

“I think it was my accent to be honest – well we do have the best one in the world”, she laughed.

Presenting

Claire who is originally from the Ballycolman Estate has been living in Abu Dhabi for the past eight years with her husband and two kids. She is certainly no stranger to performing and presenting.

Claire grew up on the stage of St Pat’s Hall and she gives thanks to Aodh McCay’s fantastic and fun pantomimes for helping her early career. She then studied acting at the Gaiety School Dublin alongside other past students Colin Farrell and Poldark’s Aiden Turner before making her way into movies by casting artists for Netflix’s War Machine with Brad Pitt and 6 Underground with Ryan Reynolds, Both filmed in the UAE.

TV and radio presenting followed, as Claire worked closely with the producers of Strictly Come Dancing and Googlebox in London to build up her showreel portfolio and since then she has had offers to present various productions across Ireland.

“It’s hard work and dedication but if you really want your dream job then sometimes you have to leave your beautiful hometown in order to achieve it – but don’t ever lose your accent, it might just be what sets you apart from the rest,” she added.

• Catch Claire every Friday on Capital Radio UAE, download the app on App store