Denise Lewis OBE is a retired British heptathlete who won gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Alongside Kelly Holmes, Paula Radcliffe and Christine Ohuruogu, Lewis is one of the “golden girls” of British athletics having established the British record of 6831 in 2000 and has twice, in 1998 and 2000, been runner up in the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year awards. She was inducted into the UK Athletics Hall of Fame in 2011 and in July 2012, carried the Olympic Flame on its Torch Relay across the UK, having been nominated by the British Olympic Association.

Since her retirement in 2005, Denise has continued to be actively involved in athletics, writing for the Telegraph newspaper and becoming an established and highly respected commentator and pundit for BBC Sport. 2012 saw Denise cement her position as an authority on the discipline, as she joined the BBC’s London 2012 broadcasting team.

Denise presented various films for the BBC Inspire Olympic magazine show in 2013, and will continue to do so throughout 2014, showcasing the wealth of British sporting talent post London 2012, and looking ahead to the Commonwealth Games and Rio 2016.

Charitable work is close to Denise’s heart and she works closely with the Jaguar Academy of Sport, Breast Cancer Care and Unicef as both Patron and Ambassador. In spring 2012, Denise undertook the gruelling challenge of rowing the Channel with John Bishop, Davina McCall and Andrew Flintoff for Bishop’s Week of Hell, an impressive feat that raised £3.4 million for Sport Relief. She again joined Davina for another formidable cycling challenge for Sport Relief in 2014. Denise has also been elected as the 2014 President of SPARKS children’s charity.

Denise’s professionalism, natural presence and genuine warmth has established her as a popular anchor and presenter, and in 2011/2012 she presented two series of Camp Orange for kid’s channel Nickelodeon. In July 2012, Denise joined Dame Mary Peters for her BBC NI documentary The Run of Her Life and that autumn saw her anchor the Woman of the Year awards strand for ITV1’s Lorraine show.