The broadcaster, which starts its London 2012 Paralympics campaign on August 26, is aiming for 50 per cent of its presenting team covering the Games to be disabled.

Julian Bellamy, Channel 4's acting chief creative officer, said the Paralympics would be the biggest event in the broadcaster’s history. 

"We will make these the most talked-about Paraylmpics ever," he said.

"Channel 4 helped to reinvent sports including NFL, sumo and cricket and I believe we can do the same for the Paralympics.

"We want to change the lack of awareness that exists about our athletes and are starting a search for disabled presenting talent and will invest £500,000 ($791,000) to find and develop new talent ahead of 2012."

Adepitan, who won a Paralympic bronze medal in the wheelchair basketball at Athens in 2004, has already been recruited by Channel 4 as one of its leading presenters for the Games.

"I think it’s important to have Paralympians actually commentating and imparting their knowledge on the Paralympic Games," said Adepitan.

"I don’t think there’s any reason why disabled athletes can’t present their own shows."

Bellamy hopes the London Paralympics as an opportunity to bring about a fundamental shift in perceptions of disability in the UK.

"The ‘Freaks of Nature’ marketing trail is part of a bold campaign that portrays Paralympians as Channel 4 feels they should be seen – supremely talented athletes who, like their able bodied sporting counterparts, are set apart from the rest of us by their staggering ability, not their disability," he said.

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