Former Olympic champion Nicola Adams will host the BBC’s LGBT Sport Podcast, which will feature “positive, inclusive and inspiring stories from across [the] LGBTQ+ sporting community”.
Adams, the first woman to win a boxing gold medal at the Olympics, when she won in London in 2012, will chat with other sporting stars about their careers, personal struggles and efforts to boost inclusivity within their chosen sport.
Guests will include Paralympic gold medallist rower Lauren Rowles, football referee Ryan Atkin, racing car driver Charlie Martin and England rugby union star Sarah Bern.
The first episode of the new podcast, which will launch on BBC Sounds on Thursday (26 June), will feature Adams speaking to Dame Kelly Holmes about her military career and the two Olympic golds she won at the Athens Games in 2004, as well as about her coming out.
“I was into sport before I joined the army, it was my life,” Holmes said on the podcast. Then I wanted a career in the forces but I realised I was gay quite early on.
“At the time, you could get kicked out of the army, jailed and lose you long-service medals, which take a minimum of five years to get. The thought of that was terrifying at [the age of] 22. So, of course, it manifested itself into fear, which is why I only came out three years ago. But I loved my career.”
In a statement on the BBC website, Adams said: “As a proud gay athlete, it’s a huge honour to present this celebration of LGBTQ+ sport which brings so many different people together. Speaking [to] these amazing competitors, each with their own story, has been truly inspiring.”
Adams, who successfully defended her flyweight title at the Olympics in Rio in 2016, went on to say: “Each episode shines a light on a different LGBTQ+ sporting hero who shares brilliant insights and positive messages from our community. Meeting all these people has been a thrilling experience and I can’t wait for listeners to join us.”
Stephanie Marshall, the BBC’s head of content and production for the west, south west and local sport, said: “What better way to mark Pride month, and to kick-off another fantastic summer of sport, than to hear from some of the LGBTQ+ community’s most-prominent sporting stars?
“We’ll also be diving into the wider ‘playing field’ of sport, including officiating.”
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