Adepitan and Morgan among C4 Paralympics presenters
MORE THAN 70 per cent of the Channel 4 presenting team for the Paralympics will be disabled, the broadcaster has pledged, as it laid out its plans for more than 300 hours of coverage of the games from Tokyo, Leeds and London.
Presenters will include wheelchair basketball player Ade Adepitan, who will front the highlights show Today In Tokyo from Japan, as well as disability advocate Sophie Morgan, former Royal Marine Commando and Strictly Come Dancing star JJ Chalmers and former professional rugby player Ed Jackson.
Lee McKenzie and Vick Hope will be reporting from Japan, while in the UK Clare Balding will present live sport finals from Leeds and Arthur Williams and Steph McGovern will head a daily Paralympics Breakfast Show.
Adam Hills, Alex Brooker and Josh Widdicombe will present The Last Leg daily from London and will be joined by Rosie Jones reporting from Tokyo. More 4 will be a dedicated team sports channel live from Tokyo which will see matches featuring Paralympics GB teams in wheelchair rugby and wheelchair basketball.
The Tokyo coverage, which will involve pundits including Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson, Steve Brown, Liam Malone, Danny Crates and Liz Johnson, will feature the largest number of disabled presenters ever seen on UK television, Channel 4 said.
The broadcaster will also show 16 livestreams on its Paralympics microsite, showing more than 1,000 hours of coverage.
Director of programmes, Ian Katz, said Channel 4 has “played a fundamental role in bringing a global audience to the Paralympic Games and for shifting perceptions of disabled people”.
He added: “Now we’re finally able to get excited about bringing the long-awaited Tokyo 2020 Paralympics to UK viewers with even more coverage than ever before and hosted by a stellar presenting team.”
The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games will take place from August 24 to September 6.