Lord Chris Holmes, Britain’s most decorated Paralympic swimmer, reflects on his time as the Deputy Chairman of British broadcaster Channel 4. He was appointed deputy chair of the broadcaster in June 2018
When Channel 4 arrived in my home in post-industrial West Midlands, I had just turned 11, it blew my head off. How amazing. A TV station that ranged from American Football to Cutting Edge, Dispatches, plus the brilliant Brookside to name just four.
How fortunate, years later, to have the opportunity to move from avid viewer to board member. As my term as Deputy Chair comes to an end, I find myself reflecting on my time with the Channel, the programmes, the people, the campaigns, the change that we have been able to achieve.
Even before that, when I was working at London 2012 on our Paralympic Games preparation, I knew we had such a unique opportunity, precious in all our hands. If we got it right, not to just shift the dial a bit, we had a chance to create a whole new ‘Paralympic paradigm’. Genuinely game-changing. Key to this was striking the right deal for our host broadcaster. Why Channel 4?
Because they understood our vision, our sense of mission plus demonstrated their clear desire to join us, as partners, on that journey. And, at Games time, some of the largest audiences in the history of the Channel.
Their vision plus the “Meet the Superhumans” campaign for the London 2012 Paralympic Games was spectacular. The ad is studied in schools (on the GCSE plus A level curriculum) plus 79 per cent of people said they felt “more comfortable discussing disability” after seeing it. The Last Leg programme plus their ‘Is it Ok?’ initiative, acknowledging the awkwardness plus inviting curiosity plus compassion, was similarly groundbreaking.
At Rio 2016 almost half the UK population tuned in to the C4 coverage. Tokyo 2020, such a tough Games in the midst of the Covid crisis. And yet, C4, there at the fore, innovative, imaginative, who can forget Ade Adepitan taxi-ing round town to interviews plus associated jollity.