Tanni Grey-Thompson on pregnancy, prejudice and how competing left her broken

The 11-time Paralympian gold medallist opens up on Saga’s new podcast Experience is Everything.

Tanni Grey-Thompson and Jenni Murray posing together

By Kate Randall | Published - 9 Feb 2026

Tanni Grey-Thompson may have retired from competitive athletics nearly 20 years ago and is now a television presenter as well as a member of the House of Lords (as Baroness Grey-Thompson), but she says her success as a wheelchair racer is still what people remember her for.

“Even now, people will say to me, you're the athlete, aren't you?” she explains. “And it's like, ‘I haven't been that athlete for nearly 20 years.’”

Tanni, 56, was speaking on the latest episode of Saga’s new podcast Experience is Everything, hosted by Jenni Murray, and the 11-time Paralympian gold medallist opened up about many topics in an honest and emotional interview.

Tanni – who has been in a wheelchair since she was young after being diagnosed with spina bifida as a baby – admits she has faced prejudices all of her life, but none more so than when she announced she was expecting a baby with her husband Ian.

“There were lots of weird reactions,” she reveals. “Loads of people saying, ‘How did you get pregnant? Lots of people saying, ‘People like you shouldn't be allowed to have children’. What? Welsh people?

“I changed hospitals because I didn't think the hospital that I was meant to have my baby at was kind of right for me. They didn't really understand my condition. I have no stomach muscles. And they said to me, ‘When you go into labour, you mums find a way to push the baby out.’

"It’s not like the muscles were going to suddenly start working! So actually I went back to Cardiff where I grew up and I had an amazing team around me.”

Tanni also speaks about life in a wheelchair, how competing left her broken “physically and mentally” and why she won’t give up fighting for people with disabilities.

Listen to the full podcast – you’ll also find previous episodes including interviews with Paul Merton, Sir Trevor McDonald and Alex Kingston.

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