Channel 4 unveils Winter Paralympics plans

Channel 4 has revealed its plans for the 2026 Paralympic Winter Games, including the addition of Dame Sarah Storey to its presentation team.

Dame Storey, ParalympicsGB’s most decorated athlete, as well as multi-gold-medal Paralympic swimming champion Alice Tai will be reporters on the ground in Cortina, speaking to athletes and their families. 

Racing-driver-turned-presenter Billy Monger and former rugby union player Ed Jackson will host Paralympics Breakfast and coverage throughout the day, with Ade Adepitan at the helm of the daily highlights. Former ParalympicsGB sit-skier Sean Rose returns as pundit, along with ex-ParalympicsGB alpine skier and medallist Jade Etherington as commentator. 

Over the 10-day event, which begins 6 March, coverage starts at breakfast time and follows the live action throughout the day, with daily highlights each evening at 6:30pm. 

Channel 4’s over 60 hours of coverage will be available across Channel 4 and Channel 4 Streaming, with every minute of action on Channel 4 Sport’s YouTube channel. All content will be subtitled, live broadcast coverage will have live audio description available from 10:30am each day, and the daily highlights programme will feature live British Sign Language translation. Plus, the Opening and Closing Ceremonies are to be simulcast on 4seven and Channel 4 Streaming with BSL and an open descriptive commentary. 

Whisper is producing the broadcasts, with a studio onsite in a mountain-top restaurant 1,778 metres high in the Dolomites. The remote galleries and back-of-house production team will be based in Cardiff at Cymru Broadcast Centre, with the behind-the-scenes team made up of at least 25% who identify as disabled, with the majority having previously worked for and been supported in their career by Whisper and Channel 4. The team will also include a higher proportion of disabled talent in senior off-screen roles than ever before.

Pete Andrews, Channel 4’s head of sport and Joe Blake-Turner, commissioning editor, sport, will oversee the coverage, and executive producers for Whisper are Matt Roberts and Dame Sarah Storey.

Channel 4’s broadcasts will feature a digital onscreen code that, when scanned on a smartphone, will link directly to the Every Body Moves portal. Every Body Moves is an initiative that which encourages disabled people across the UK to take up a sport or physical activity, which Channel 4 first ran for the 2024 Paralympic Games, when more than 83,000 people visited the Every Body Moves website for the first time. 

Dame Sarah Storey said: “I’m thrilled to be part of the Channel 4 presenting team for this year’s Winter Paralympics and can’t wait to get started. It’s a wonderful opportunity to see a Winter Games in person and to be tasked with sharing the stories of the incredible athletes taking part in Milano Cortina, as well as helping to bring their achievements and journeys to life for audiences across Channel 4.”

Ian Katz, chief content officer at Channel 4, said: “We are incredibly proud to have such a fantastic on-screen team once again for the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games, whilst showcasing ParalympicsGB and the extraordinary British athletes competing on the world stage. Welcoming Dame Sarah Storey and Alice Tai to our presenting line-up alongside some of the UK’s most respected Paralympic broadcasters reflects our continued commitment to inclusive representation and championing talent.

“This Winter Paralympics sees us continue to work in partnership with the talented team at Whisper, with our remote production based at our state-of-the-art, accessible Cymru Broadcast Centre in Cardiff for a second Paralympics. The coverage reflects the scale of our ambition both on and off screen, from the studio high in the Dolomites to the skilled teams in Cardiff, as we deliver world-class, accessible coverage that brings audiences closer than ever to the drama, excitement and brilliance of the Winter Paralympics.”