Motivational SpeakersDame Denise Lewis DBE is an accomplished presenter, broadcaster, former athlete and President of Commonwealth Games England.
The former Gold Medal-winning heptathlete, who holds the second-highest number of points scored by a British Heptathlete, has secured a successful broadcast career.
Since she retired from Athletics, Denise has undertaken various television work, 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 has twice been runner-up in the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year Awards (in 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, which has seen her cover many key athletics events both at home and abroad.
In 2012, Denise covered the Commonwealth Games and the London Olympics, reporting daily from the Olympic Park.
She has presented the European Diamond League and the London Marathon in 2014, the European Team Championships, the 2015 World Athletics Championships, the Rio Olympics in 2016 and the IAAF Championships in 2017.
In 2018, Denise flew to the Gold Coast, 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 been involved in presenting a range of successful shows and documentaries.
This has ranged from presenting two series of Camp Orange for Nickelodeon to joining Dame Mary Peters for the BBC NI documentary, The Run of Her Life.
Denise has also presented for BBC One’s Seven Wonders of the Commonwealth, where she travelled to Zambia to report on the spectacular sight of Victoria Falls. Furthermore, she had a successful stint co-presenting The One Show in 2015 and following on from the popularity of her episode of Operation Meet the Street, Denise was featured as a Contributor for 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 been involved in several sporting achievements, including the challenge of rowing the channel with John Bishop, Davina McCall and Freddie Flintoff and also competed 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. Then, in 2016, Denise presented Winners for BBC Two, BBC World and News, which saw her uncover 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 taken on the role of 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.
