Tokyo Paralympics: Most of Channel 4's TV hosts will be disabled

Tokyo Paralympics: Most of Channel 4's TV hosts will be disabled

More than 70% of Channel 4's presenting team for the Paralympic Games will be disabled, the broadcaster has pledged.

Presenters for the event, which takes place in Tokyo in August and September, will include TV host and former basketball player Ade Adepitan.

 

He'll be joined by disability advocate Sophie Morgan, ex-rugby player Ed Jackson and Strictly star JJ Chalmers.

Channel 4 said it would be the largest number of disabled presenters ever seen on UK TV.

Director of programmes Ian Katz said the broadcaster had a long track record of "bringing a global audience to the Paralympic Games and for shifting perceptions of disabled people".

Non-disabled presenters Lee McKenzie and Vick Hope will also report from Japan, while Clare Balding will present live coverage from a studio in Leeds, and Steph McGovern will head a daily breakfast show alongside Paralympic cyclist and former Royal Marine Arthur Williams.

Elsewhere, Adam Hills, Alex Brooker and Josh Widdicombe will host The Last Leg daily and will be joined by comedian Rosie Jones, who has cerebral palsy, reporting from Tokyo. The coverage will also feature pundits including 11-time Paralympic gold medal winner Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson.