Channel 4 announces 100% disabled presenting team for Winter Paralympics

7 February 2022

• Channel 4 scores global first with all-star disabled presenting team for Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games
• ParalympicsGB champions Lauren Steadman and Ellie Robinson to join on-screen presenting team led by Ade Adepitan, Arthur Williams, Billy Monger and Sean Rose
• Channel 4 will host over 80 hours of round-the-clock Paralympics coverage from China on free-to-air television, plus streaming on C4 YouTube channel

Channel 4 has today announced an all-star disabled presenting team for the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games, who will present on the ground in China.

It is a global first for a broadcaster to have an entire disabled presenting and punditry team for a world class sporting event.

The UK Paralympic broadcaster will bring over 80 hours and present the Games live from Beijing on Channel 4, plus streaming on C4’s YouTube platform.

Broadcast Sports award-winning presenter Ade Adepitan will helm the daily highlights show, with former rugby player Ed Jackson and Paralympic champion triathlete Lauren Steadman bringing the Breakfast Show to viewers.

Recently retired Paralympic swimmer Ellie Robinson will be joined by British racing car driver Billy Monger as on-screen reporters and former sit-kier Sean Rose as pundit. Tokyo 2020 presenter Arthur Williams will lead overnight sports coverage.

Channel 4 has exclusive broadcast rights within the UK and its Beijing Paralympics coverage will be produced by Whisper and sponsored by Toyota.

Channel 4’s Director of Programmes Ian Katz said, “Channel 4 is incredibly proud to announce a stellar presenting team and - in a first for any broadcaster around the world - an entire presenting team who are disabled. This is testament to the brilliant disabled presenting talent we have in the UK and underlines our commitment to providing opportunities for people with disabilities and making our output truly representative of the entire population.

“We are looking forward to once again bringing a global audience to the Paralympic Games and are proud of what we have achieved since London 2012, shifting perceptions of disabled people and bringing world-class sporting drama to our viewers through our significant investment in coverage and award-winning marketing campaigns.

“We will bring the best coverage possible to the British public, live from China, so we can all get behind ParalympicsGB and celebrate their success in Beijing.”

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Therese Coffey said, “This all-star disabled presenting team is world-leading and it is a momentous milestone for the UK, displaying pleasing progress on disability representation in broadcasting.

“Coverage of Paralympic Games is always an inspiring reminder that we should be judged by what we can do, rather than what we cannot. The Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games presented by this impressive line-up brings that home more than ever, helping us change perceptions of disabled people across the UK.

“I know ParalympicsGB will do us proud and I look forward to watching their endeavours along with millions of people in homes around the country.”

Andrew Parsons, IPC President, said: “When I heard that all of Channel 4’s presenting team at the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games will be persons with disabilities I was stunned, but not surprised because they are a world-leading organisation in disability inclusion. The IPC has been working on the Paralympic Games with Channel 4 since 2012 and at every Games they have improved the broadcast landscape on Para sports. 

“They are exactly what public sector broadcasting is all about, having the bravery to say: ‘we will be the first to do that’. And this latest landmark decision is important because representation matters. There are over 15 per cent of persons in Great Britain with a disability and they should be able to switch on a TV and see wonderfully ordinary persons with disabilities like them in front of the camera. This is change starting with sport.”

Off screen Channel 4 is committed to progressing the careers of disabled people working in TV. Last year Channel 4 underlined its pioneering work with disabled talent across the TV sector through its ‘Engage & Enable’ disability strategy, including RISEits brand new mentorship scheme for mid to senior disabled production talent in TV.

The Broadcaster also devised shareable best practice guidelines for indies and producers on hiring, including and progressing disabled production talent as well as setting out expectations for the production companies when featuring disabled people on-screen

Channel 4 aspires to maintain its prized position as a world leader in inclusion and accessibility and Beijing 2022 will be the most accessible Winter Paralympics ever.

Channel 4 will carry live subtitles and the highlights shows will repeat on More 4 with Audio Description. The majority of content on the Channel 4’s YouTube channel will also have subtitles.

Since 2012, Channel 4 has showcased more hours of Paralympic sport than any other broadcaster in history and helped create household names of both athletes and presenters.

Last summer Channel 4 attracted 20 million viewers (a third of the UK population) to its 2020 Tokyo Paralympics coverage.

The Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games will take place from 4-13 March.

Channel 4 Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games programming

• Paralympics Breakfast – hosted by Ed Jackson and Lauren Steadman
• Paralympics Today – hosted by Ade Adepitan
• Overnight sport – Hosted by Arthur Williams
• Reporting & punditry team – Ellie Robinson, Billy Monger, Sean Rose  

Channel 4 Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games presenting team

• Ade Adepitan: Ade competed as a professional Wheelchair Basketball player before pursuing a well-respected career in television. He has fronted documentaries tackling global issues such as climate change, presented the Paralympic Games for Channel 4 and co-hosted Children in Need. Last year Ade won the Broadcast Sport award for his Tokyo 2020 highlights show ‘Today in Tokyo’.
• Ed Jackson: Former professional rugby player Ed Jackson is an adventurer, charity founder, broadcaster, speaker, author, brand ambassador and mentor. 2021 saw Ed launch his debut podcast, It’s Good to Walk. His broadcasting talents were demonstrated when presenting Channel 4’s European Champions Cup rugby highlights and commentary for the Six Nations. He was part of Channel 4’s presenting team for the Tokyo 202 Paralympic Games.
• Billy Monger: Billy Monger is a British racing driver who raced in British F4 in 2016 and 2017. He is now a commentator/pundit and TV personality.
• Ellie Robinson: Ellie is a Paralympic swimming champion who won the heart of the nation with her emotive post-event interview at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. In 2016, after the Rio Paralympics, she was named the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year.
• Lauren Steadman: Lauren is a Paralympic athlete who has competed in four Games, in both swimming and Para Triathlon. Lauren competed at both the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing and the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London as a swimmer, before switching to the paratriathlon for the 2016 Games in Rio where she won a silver medal, followed by gold at Tokyo 2020. Lauren also competed on Strictly Come Dancing in 2020.
• Arthur Williams: Originally identified by Channel 4, Arthur received rave reviews for his presentation of Channel 4‘s London 2012 Paralympic Games as well as being named by Bafta as a ‘Break Through Brit’ and nominated for a Grierson award for ‘best documentary presenter’ for Channel 4’s The Plane That Saved Britain. Arthur has also presented and authored a number of leading documentaries on his expertise of military history, travel and aviation.
• Sean Rose: A former serving member of the RAF, Sean has since competed for GB in Paralympic sit-skiing and is a three-time world champion water skier.

 

About Channel 4

Channel 4 is a publicly-owned, commercially-funded, not-for-profit public service broadcaster and has a remit to be innovative, experimental and distinctive. Its public ownership and not-for-profit status ensure all profit generated by its commercial activity is directly reinvested back into the delivery of its public service remit. As a publisher-broadcaster, Channel 4 is also required to commission UK content from the independent production sector and currently works with around 400 creative companies across the UK every year. In addition to the main Channel 4 service, its portfolio includes: E4, More4, Film4, 4Music, 4seven, channel4.com, video-on-demand service 4oD and standalone digital projects.

About the British Paralympic Association and ParalympicsGB

The British Paralympic Association is the National Paralympic Committee for the UK, responsible for the promotion of the Paralympic movement in Great Britain and selecting, entering and funding the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Paralympic team.

ParalympicsGB is the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Paralympic Team competing at the summer and winter Paralympic Games. We know that the outstanding performances of our athletes have a powerful impact on the British public and can shift perceptions of disability in society, helping to inspire a better world for disabled people.

Further details are available at https://paralympics.org.uk/