Balding, who has worked as a television presenter for the BBC for nearly two decades, will be the main presence for Channel 4's peak time live coverage of the Games, where the 40-year-old from Hampshire will be joined by British Paralympic wheelchair basketball medallist Ade Adepitan (pictured front left).

Adepitan has been working on Channel 4's Paralympic programming for the last two years and fronted four series of the popular "That Paralympic Show".

Channel 4, E4 and T4 presenter Rick Edwards will also take up a key role in the presenter line-up having worked alongside Adepitan throughout the four series of That Paralympic Show.

A major new edition to the team is disabled Australian comedian Adam Hills (pictured centre), who hosted ABC's live coverage of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

Hills was born without a right foot and wears a prosthesis, which has become a frequent source of comedy in his acts.

He is set to host an evening highlights show that will take place every evening of the Paralympic Games, featuring key action from the day.

Olympic triple-jump champion Jonathan Edwards is another high profile Channel 4 newcomer to join the line-up and brings huge experience to the team having worked as an athletics commentator and presenter for BBC television since his retirement from competition in 2003.

Long-standing Channel 4 news anchor Jon Snow will lead the channel's coverage of the Paralympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies, while Kelly Cates and Georgie Bingham also join as presenters.


Between them have a resume of sports broadcasting experience which includes Sky Sports, ESPN and Setanta.

Seven new faces in the line-up will come from Channel 4's search for disabled talent in 2010 including Irish presenter Daráine Mulvihill and former Royal Marine Arthur Williams, who will each anchor in-studio.

They will be joined on-location by former Paralympic swimmer Rachael Latham, wheelchair basketball player Jordan Jarrett-Bryan, former carpenter Martin Dougan, researcher Liam Holt and sports journalist Alex Brooker.

All seven were chosen from hundreds of hopefuls in the talent search and put through rigorous training.

Additional on-location reporters include experienced sports broadcaster Sonja McLaughlan, Athens 2004 800 metres Paralympic champion Danny Crates, triple Paralympic gold medallist Giles Long and Olympic silver medallist Iwan Thomas.

"Being the broadcaster of the London 2012 Paralympic Games is a huge privilege and an opportunity for us to really make a difference to the perception of disability and disability sport in this country," said Channel 4's chief creative officer Jay Hunt.

"I'm thrilled to announce this brilliant and carefully selected team of presenters and reporters; a mix of broadcasting heavyweights and new faces including disabled talent.

"Our coverage will contain in-depth analysis and intelligent, frank and thought provoking insight from people who are equipped to bring these incredible but little understood sports to a broad mainstream audience and help us to make this the biggest Paralympic Games ever."

Details of the wider team, including commentators and pundits, will be released at a later date but a notable absentee from the presenting line up is Ortis Deley.

Deley was appointed the main presenter of Channel 4's coverage of the 2011 World Athletics Championships in Daegu but was dropped half-way through the event after his inept performance drew a barrage of complaints from viewers.

Channel 4 will be hoping there is no repeat of the disaster at London 2012 and have clearly distanced themselves from Deley in a ploy to detract attention from the embarrassing episode last year.

Instead they look forward to what will be the biggest broadcasting event in their 30-year history and the most extensive British coverage that has ever been dedicated to the Paralympic Games.

Channel 4 were awarded the rights to broadcast the London 2012 Paralympics in a deal worth more than £5 million ($7 million/€6 million) as they beat off the BBC, who had shown every Games since 1980 and invested several million pounds into promoting disability sport.

The deal came about largely because of the commitment of Channel 4 to broadcast more than 150 hours of coverage of the Paralympics.

Channel 4's coverage of the Games will be on air across the channel's network until midnight each day during the Games-time period as the channel commits to "all day every day" programming.

The team of presenters, who will broadcast in pairs, will co-host Games-time action while newly-commissioned breakfast and teatime shows will air on each day of the Games.

The channel's Paralympic coverage will be produced by UK sports production companies Sunset & Vine and IMG Sports Media.

"We will be on air before the sport of the day begins and until the last flag has been rolled up and put away with all the action, expert comment and analysis and specially commissioned breakfast and tea time shows," added Hunt.

"This is a 400 per cent increase on the coverage the Paralympics has ever received in this country and will make it impossible to ignore."

Coverage, including of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, will span both Channel 4 and More 4, to accommodate regular programming.

Meanwhile, Channel 4 will be broadcasting the 2012 BT Paralympic World Cup and a range of Paralympic programming in the lead up to London 2012 including a fourth series of 'That Paralympic Show' and the final episodes of their 'Best of British' series.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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