Motivational SpeakersDame Denise Lewis DBE is an accomplished presenter, broadcaster, former athlete and inspirational speaker.
The former Gold-Medal-Winning heptathlete, who holds the second-highest number of points scored by a British Heptathlete, has built a successful broadcast career.
Since retiring from Athletics, Denise has taken on various television roles, including commentating on high-profile athletics events and fronting shows such as BBC’s Secret Britain and Right on the Money.
Denise is one of the ‘golden girls’ of British athletics, winning gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and subsequently being inducted into the UK Athletics Hall of Fame in 2011.
She was runner-up twice in the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year Awards (1998 and 2000) and was also honoured with an OBE in the 2000 New Year Honours.
Presenter and Broadcaster:
Denise is considered one of the BBC’s most credible commentators, and she has covered many key athletics events at home and abroad.
In 2012, Denise covered the Commonwealth Games and the London Olympics, reporting daily from the Olympic Park.
In 2014, she presented the European Diamond League and the London Marathon; in 2015, the European Team Championships and the World Athletics Championships; in 2016, the Rio Olympics; and in 2017, the IAAF Championships.
Denise flew to the Gold Coast in 2018, where she commentated on the Commonwealth Games and represented England as the President of the Commonwealth Games England.
In addition to delivering BBC Athletics coverage, Denise has presented a range of successful shows and documentaries.
This has ranged from presenting two Camp Orange series for Nickelodeon to joining Dame Mary Peters on the BBC NI documentary The Run of Her Life.
Denise has also presented BBC One’s Seven Wonders of the Commonwealth, travelling to Zambia to report on the spectacular sight of Victoria Falls. She also co-presented The One Show in 2015, and after her popular Operation Meet the Street episode, she was featured as a contributor to ITV’s Give a Pet a Home. Other guest slots have included Sky Sportswoman and Celebrity Squares.
In 2018, Denise fronted her fourth series of Right on the Money for the BBC and also authored the documentary Matron, Medicine and Me to celebrate the NHS’s 70th birthday.
Denise competed in the second series of Strictly Come Dancing and achieved the judges’ highest score in the Strictly Come Dancing Champion of Champions Special.
Denise has also achieved several sporting milestones, including rowing the Channel with John Bishop, Davina McCall and Freddie Flintoff, and competing in the wheelchair basketball event at the 2014 Invictus Games, which was broadcast live on The One Show.
Diversity:
Throughout her career, Denise Lewis has used her platform to highlight projects that discuss and promote diversity.
In 2012, she anchored the Woman of the Year Awards for ITV1’s Lorraine. In 2016, Denise presented Winners for BBC Two, BBC World and News, where she uncovered the incredible stories of six female athletes worldwide and the challenges they face simply because they are female.
She has also worked to promote Women in Work for International Women’s Day.
Furthermore, Denise joined other exceptional figures in politics, business, sport and science to share her insights into being Black and British in the BBC Two Series Black is the New Black in 2016.
Charity:
In addition to her broadcast commitments, Denise has served as an ambassador and patron for several initiatives, events, and charities.
Charitable work is close to Denise’s heart, and she works closely with Breast Cancer Care and Sparks, and she is the President of Commonwealth Games England.
