0:00:02 > 0:00:06Today I'm meeting one of Britain's most successful and popular athletes.
0:00:06 > 0:00:09Her story is one of struggles and triumphs,
0:00:09 > 0:00:13but it's taken her from the track to the House of Lords.
0:00:13 > 0:00:17It's time to meet Tanni Grey-Thompson.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20We had a letter from the head teacher, which said,
0:00:20 > 0:00:24"Dear Mr and Mrs Grey, we've noticed that Tanni's in a wheelchair.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26"We don't take people like Tanni at our school."
0:00:26 > 0:00:29"We don't take people like Tanni?"
0:00:29 > 0:00:33From the minute I tried a racing chair, that was it.
0:00:33 > 0:00:35I didn't want to do any other sport.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37Actually sitting in the chamber with her,
0:00:37 > 0:00:40and being able to say to her, "Because of you I'm here,"
0:00:40 > 0:00:43was a really big deal for me emotionally.
0:00:45 > 0:00:47THEY LAUGH
0:00:47 > 0:00:50Do you know what? I never even vaguely remembered that I said that.
0:00:50 > 0:00:52I still feel this huge pressure to live up to
0:00:52 > 0:00:54everything Mum and Dad gave me.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57You know, it's hard. But most of the time, it's a really,
0:00:57 > 0:00:59really positive thing to have in my life.
0:01:05 > 0:01:07- Tanni, it's lovely to see you. - Thank you.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09Thank you very much for agreeing to this
0:01:09 > 0:01:12because I just want to say something that you said a little while ago,
0:01:12 > 0:01:15but you did say, "I really don't like that kind of public
0:01:15 > 0:01:19"exposure, where they go through your life in half an hour."
0:01:19 > 0:01:21- Did I really say that? - You really said that.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23- OK.- What's changed?- Erm...
0:01:23 > 0:01:26I think it's kind of having people that know what they're doing.
0:01:26 > 0:01:28It's always a bit strange. People have a view of me
0:01:28 > 0:01:31either as an athlete or as a parliamentarian...
0:01:31 > 0:01:33cos they've seen you in their living room.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36When I was competing, they might have come to watch me compete.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39And a lot of the time, what they think of you is not reality.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42So it is slightly strange, sort of, having the...
0:01:42 > 0:01:46And I think I had a bad experience on This Is Your Life.
0:01:46 > 0:01:51- Oh...- Which brought out all sorts of people that I didn't really know.
0:01:51 > 0:01:53- Or like.- Or pretended to be my best friend.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56And you go, "Oh, it's lovely to see you again. Thank you."
0:01:56 > 0:02:00I'll show you that. You were on Question Of Sport...
0:02:00 > 0:02:02and here you go.
0:02:02 > 0:02:08- You were on Ally McCoist's team, weren't you?- Yeah.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11- Who's this?- Oh...! Do you know why?
0:02:11 > 0:02:13I'm looking really smug because they told me
0:02:13 > 0:02:16beforehand they were doing John Parrott...
0:02:16 > 0:02:18so that's why I'm looking...
0:02:18 > 0:02:20I'm looking not even interested cos I'm going,
0:02:20 > 0:02:22"They're doing John Parrott. This is really funny."
0:02:22 > 0:02:25You've got a wonderful selection of sporting talent...
0:02:25 > 0:02:28You couldn't be bothered, could you?
0:02:28 > 0:02:31Five times Paralympic gold medallist Tanni Grey...
0:02:31 > 0:02:36Yeah... Yeah... I'm really glad that all I said was, "Oh, my God."
0:02:36 > 0:02:39- Erm... It was...- That's so funny.
0:02:39 > 0:02:43And I remember this. My husband, we weren't married then,
0:02:43 > 0:02:46but he basically...picked the clothes that I wore,
0:02:46 > 0:02:47and I remember thinking,
0:02:47 > 0:02:51"I'm doing This Is Your Life and this is what I'm wearing!"
0:02:51 > 0:02:54It's that bit when people come out and you're thinking,
0:02:54 > 0:02:58"I don't really remember you." That's... That's quite hard.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01But tell me about life growing up in Cardiff.
0:03:01 > 0:03:03- Was it a happy childhood? - It was a happy childhood.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06I've got an older sister, Sian, who was 18 months older than me,
0:03:06 > 0:03:08so I was always trying to play catch-up.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11I was always trying to do the things that she was doing,
0:03:11 > 0:03:14so I was probably a complete pain in the neck as a little sister.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17Erm...but I became paralysed at seven. And for me,
0:03:17 > 0:03:21I don't really remember much about it cos it was quite a slow process.
0:03:21 > 0:03:23You were born with spina bifida.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26I wonder when... Were you aware of pain when you were small?
0:03:26 > 0:03:29No. I mean, there wasn't any pain.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32And even when I became paralysed...
0:03:32 > 0:03:34the cord was severed so slowly...
0:03:34 > 0:03:38My spinal cord was exposed, my spine collapsed and, basically,
0:03:38 > 0:03:39it just cut through my cord.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42So I could walk for a couple of years pretty badly and then I...
0:03:42 > 0:03:45As I gradually became paralysed, I used to fall over all the time.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48That's the only point in my life I felt really disabled
0:03:48 > 0:03:49because I couldn't play with my friends,
0:03:49 > 0:03:51I couldn't run round, I couldn't do anything.
0:03:51 > 0:03:55And then I had these callipers and crutches, which were really ugly.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57And, again, I couldn't carry anything, I couldn't play...
0:03:57 > 0:04:00And it was my father who just said, "OK. Let's try a chair."
0:04:00 > 0:04:02And the doctors didn't want me
0:04:02 > 0:04:06to do that cos they told my father that I was giving up and...
0:04:06 > 0:04:09I would never have any life if I was a wheelchair user.
0:04:09 > 0:04:11But I think... Dad was an architect.
0:04:11 > 0:04:13He knew a lot about the built environment,
0:04:13 > 0:04:16and he recognised that the best chance I had was to be mobile,
0:04:16 > 0:04:19and fit and healthy. And, actually, that was by being in a wheelchair.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22Although he didn't change anything in the house to make it any
0:04:22 > 0:04:23easier for you, to be in a wheelchair.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26He refused to make a house wheelchair accessible,
0:04:26 > 0:04:29which I think, again, people thought was really cruel.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31And he said to me at that point that he didn't want me
0:04:31 > 0:04:32living at home forever.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36He didn't want it to be the only place I could ever live.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39Your parents, who clearly loved you deeply,
0:04:39 > 0:04:42I do get the sense that what they instilled in you is a sense of -
0:04:42 > 0:04:46you describe it yourself - as being bloody-minded...
0:04:46 > 0:04:48and stubborn, and driven,
0:04:48 > 0:04:53and all those words that have helped make you a very successful
0:04:53 > 0:04:55athlete and parliamentarian.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58But it was that grounding almost, those early years,
0:04:58 > 0:05:01that formed your character.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05Yeah, hugely. You know, when people did treat me differently...
0:05:05 > 0:05:08I remember being refused to be allowed to go into the cinema
0:05:08 > 0:05:12with my friends when I was probably about eight or nine...
0:05:12 > 0:05:14and the manager saying that I was a fire risk.
0:05:14 > 0:05:16And my mum turning around and saying,
0:05:16 > 0:05:19"Well, she's never spontaneously combusted before."
0:05:19 > 0:05:21I don't think I even knew what that meant.
0:05:21 > 0:05:26So they were very good at standing up for me, but also being
0:05:26 > 0:05:30really clear to me that it wasn't my problem I was in a wheelchair.
0:05:30 > 0:05:32You know, it wasn't my fault.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34It sounds like a very close family. Was it?
0:05:34 > 0:05:35Yeah, we were very close.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37My grandfather, my mum's dad,
0:05:37 > 0:05:41was absolutely brilliant in terms of just, you know,
0:05:41 > 0:05:43not treating me differently.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46Just...being really, really supportive.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49And I remember my gran, I suppose a product of the time,
0:05:49 > 0:05:53going into the house, they had stepping stones of carpet...
0:05:53 > 0:05:55so you didn't ruin the real carpet.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58And I remember struggling to walk from stepping stone to
0:05:58 > 0:06:01stepping stone, and my grandfather saying,
0:06:01 > 0:06:03"Just let her walk wherever she wants to."
0:06:03 > 0:06:06So my grandad... He was born in 1892.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09You know, would have potentially had a very old-fashioned
0:06:09 > 0:06:10view of impairment and disability,
0:06:10 > 0:06:12he just kind of cut through a lot of that,
0:06:12 > 0:06:15and I think that influenced my mum's attitude as well.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18And your grandmother was instrumental in helping you do
0:06:18 > 0:06:19things like learn to read.
0:06:19 > 0:06:21And we've got this lovely little book here,
0:06:21 > 0:06:26and it feels like it will break as soon as I pick it up cos it's
0:06:26 > 0:06:29so delicate, so I'm going to give it to you.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32It's a book of poetry, and I remember Nana sort of sitting,
0:06:32 > 0:06:35sort of reading through it with me.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38We've all written our names in it.
0:06:38 > 0:06:40It was actually my mum's originally,
0:06:40 > 0:06:43and that was given to her by her auntie Bessie,
0:06:43 > 0:06:45so that was Christmas '47.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47And then they crossed it out.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50And that's my mum's writing, writing Sian's name in it.
0:06:50 > 0:06:52And then I think I probably crossed it out and...
0:06:52 > 0:06:54I don't know what that writing is. Yes, I...
0:06:54 > 0:06:58This is so old, but I remember learning to read
0:06:58 > 0:07:01The Owl And The Pussycat and sitting on my grandma's knee.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04- I think it is going to fall apart. - Oh...
0:07:04 > 0:07:07I'm not sure what was written on the back either.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10- That says "Wales."- Looks like "Wales", doesn't it?
0:07:10 > 0:07:13THEY LAUGH You were patriotic, even then.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17- Quite right.- I'm going to put it back before it does fall apart on me.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19Keep it very, very safe.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23You were talking about how persistent and stubborn your family were
0:07:23 > 0:07:26at making sure that you got everything that anyone else would.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29But when it came to getting you into secondary school,
0:07:29 > 0:07:31it was a different matter.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34- It was a slightly harder battle, wasn't it? What happened?- It was.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37I'd gone to my local primary school, then I was due to go to high school,
0:07:37 > 0:07:40so I should have got to St Cyres in Cardiff,
0:07:40 > 0:07:42which is where Sian was. And...
0:07:42 > 0:07:45We had a letter from the head teacher, which said,
0:07:45 > 0:07:48"Mr and Mrs Grey, we've noticed that Tanni's in a wheelchair.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51"We don't take people like Tanni at our school."
0:07:51 > 0:07:54- "We don't take people like Tanni"? - Yeah. And...
0:07:54 > 0:07:57I think that was really hard for my parents to deal with.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00That was the first point I realised that people would really
0:08:00 > 0:08:03- treat me differently. - Were you cross?
0:08:03 > 0:08:04Yeah, I was really annoyed.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06Erm...cos I wanted to be where Sian was.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09And we'd gone to see one of the special schools
0:08:09 > 0:08:12that I might have gone to, and...
0:08:12 > 0:08:18At 14 and 15, they were allowed to do three GCSEs,
0:08:18 > 0:08:21so it was English, maths and home economics.
0:08:21 > 0:08:26And... My parents saying, "Well, what's she going to do with that?"
0:08:26 > 0:08:29It wasn't that I needed special ed.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32I needed a school that was accessible.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34And it was 1981 and...
0:08:34 > 0:08:37Actually, in the late '70s, Baroness Warnock, Mary Warnock,
0:08:37 > 0:08:41had written a white paper, which was about the right of disabled
0:08:41 > 0:08:43children to be educated in a mainstream school.
0:08:43 > 0:08:48And Dad got hold of a copy of it and then started writing letters,
0:08:48 > 0:08:50really quite fierce ones.
0:08:50 > 0:08:52It got to the point where he threatened to sue
0:08:52 > 0:08:55the Secretary of State for Wales over my right to be
0:08:55 > 0:08:57educated in a mainstream school.
0:08:57 > 0:08:59And he basically just wore down the education authority
0:08:59 > 0:09:02until I was allowed to go to a mainstream school.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04But at the time, in South Glamorgan, there was
0:09:04 > 0:09:07one comprehensive that took wheelchair users.
0:09:07 > 0:09:09That was it, one. And I then found out I was on a waiting list,
0:09:09 > 0:09:12which then Dad started writing letters again,
0:09:12 > 0:09:15and then I was allowed to go. But without that...
0:09:15 > 0:09:18Cos I think Dad was very passionate about education.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21He always used to say to me, "Education gives you choices."
0:09:21 > 0:09:24As an 11-year-old, you sit there and you think, "Yeah, whatever."
0:09:24 > 0:09:26And then you realise, actually, when you're older...
0:09:26 > 0:09:30Now I'm my age, I realise that, actually, that was possibly the most
0:09:30 > 0:09:33important thing he gave me because that gave me access to sport,
0:09:33 > 0:09:35university. Without all those different things,
0:09:35 > 0:09:37I wouldn't have become a Paralympian.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40- And what was it like when you got into secondary school?- It was great.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43I mean, I just remember being really happy that
0:09:43 > 0:09:45I had the options that everyone else had.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47I really enjoyed school.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50Where did the love of sport come in?
0:09:50 > 0:09:53Sport was always a really big thing in our house,
0:09:53 > 0:09:59so my very first memory ever is watching Wales play New Zealand...
0:09:59 > 0:10:03and wearing a bobble hat and a scarf in our living room.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06And being taught to scream at the TV, "We hate Batty!"
0:10:06 > 0:10:09Cos he obviously just hated anyone that played Rugby against Wales,
0:10:09 > 0:10:10so that came from my mum.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13And Dad played a lot of sport, so...
0:10:13 > 0:10:14It was just sort of there.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18And I am really, hugely, annoyingly competitive,
0:10:18 > 0:10:21so I think they thought, if I played sport, it might tire me out
0:10:21 > 0:10:23and might calm me down a little bit.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26And also, I think, understanding that I needed to be fit and strong.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29It wasn't necessarily about winning.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32It was about being fit and healthy.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35Hmm. When did you start the wheelchair racing then?
0:10:35 > 0:10:37I started wheelchair racing at 12, and at that point
0:10:37 > 0:10:41I played lots of different sport and was really rubbish at most of them.
0:10:41 > 0:10:46But from the minute I tried a racing chair, that was it.
0:10:46 > 0:10:48I didn't want to do any other sport.
0:10:48 > 0:10:50And... Every decision I took from then,
0:10:50 > 0:10:54it was still at the back of my mind, "This is what I want to do."
0:10:54 > 0:10:56I went to Loughborough because of the sport.
0:10:56 > 0:11:01It dictated relationships, wedding dates, birth of my daughter.
0:11:01 > 0:11:03It was the most important thing in my life.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06I never had to sacrifice anything. But my family did.
0:11:06 > 0:11:08They put up with me never being there.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11My sister based her wedding around my competition schedule.
0:11:11 > 0:11:13She wanted to get married in 2000 and that was Sydney
0:11:13 > 0:11:16and she knew I wasn't going to be there in the summer,
0:11:16 > 0:11:18so she got married in February so I could be there.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20Which is amazing because she didn't have to do that.
0:11:20 > 0:11:24So my family tolerated an awful lot
0:11:24 > 0:11:27from this huge drive I had to be an athlete.
0:11:27 > 0:11:31You've brought some of your medals in. Can I have a look?
0:11:31 > 0:11:33Then you can talk me through them.
0:11:33 > 0:11:35Heavens above, there are a lot in here, aren't there?
0:11:35 > 0:11:38I take them to schools. I think it's good for them to see them.
0:11:38 > 0:11:43So this is Barcelona. That's my 400 medal.
0:11:43 > 0:11:47Barcelona, very important year for you. You came back with four golds.
0:11:47 > 0:11:49It was a big deal going to Barcelona.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52I was world record holder for the four distances I competed over.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55And I won four golds. But, um...
0:11:55 > 0:11:58- Sydney.- That was a rather good one again, wasn't it?
0:11:58 > 0:11:59Yeah. I went back to four golds.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03This one's actually slightly tarnished because personally,
0:12:03 > 0:12:05I don't think they're meant to be locked away.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08They're meant for people, if they want to hold them, or do whatever they want with.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12- Can I hold one of them? Quite heavy, aren't they?- They are.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16- It's not real gold, is it? - It's gold-plated.- Is it?- Yeah.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19- Lovely, though. Really, really beautiful.- And then my Athens.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22100 metres from Athens.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24Which... Actually, that's the prettiest ribbon.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26I think the Barcelona ribbon...
0:12:26 > 0:12:28That's how we got them, tied in a knot!
0:12:28 > 0:12:31- I mean, you've only got three there and you've won 11.- Yep.
0:12:31 > 0:12:33You don't feel possessive about your medals?
0:12:33 > 0:12:36- Some people won't even allow you to touch their medals.- No.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39I mean...winning the race was important.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42These are lovely. These are the bits that are important to Mum and Dad
0:12:42 > 0:12:46and my family and I wouldn't want to lose them,
0:12:46 > 0:12:49but no, I don't feel that they have to be wrapped in cotton wool.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52You married Ian in 1999.
0:12:52 > 0:12:57Did you fit your wedding into competition dates
0:12:57 > 0:13:01where it wouldn't affect either you or Ian, who's also an athlete.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05Completely. Our wedding was choreographed to completely fit
0:13:05 > 0:13:08within our competition schedule for that season.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11We got married in May, so it was two weeks after the London marathon
0:13:11 > 0:13:13and just before the start of the track season.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16And then for our honeymoon, we went to Switzerland,
0:13:16 > 0:13:20which was lovely, but we joined a Swiss national squad training camp.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23So we thought that was perfectly fine, normal, acceptable.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26I think my friends outside sport thought it was a little strange.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30But, you know, it was important to have the timing right.
0:13:30 > 0:13:32You've won a lot of accolades.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34It's not just the gold medals and the world records
0:13:34 > 0:13:37and the London marathon, first prizes,
0:13:37 > 0:13:39it's also you were made an MBE
0:13:39 > 0:13:43and then you were made an OBE and then you were made a Dame.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45Yeah. And, um...that was...
0:13:45 > 0:13:48You get a letter through the post saying,
0:13:48 > 0:13:52"if the Queen would be so minded, would you be willing to accept?"
0:13:52 > 0:13:56And I sort of read, "Dame Commander of the British Empire," and went...!
0:13:56 > 0:13:59- So, it came out of the blue?- Yep. Didn't expect it at all.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03And, um...got to go to Buckingham Palace, er...
0:14:03 > 0:14:07So my father, my sister, Ian, my husband.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09And that was really, really nice.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12Mum had died by then, but she would have been hugely proud
0:14:12 > 0:14:15of me being Dame Tanni.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18I'm going to take you back to Sydney Paralympics.
0:14:18 > 0:14:22- What do you remember of this? - Oh, the 100 metres.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25I always was the slowest starter
0:14:25 > 0:14:29and Cheri Blauwet in the outside lane had the most incredible start.
0:14:29 > 0:14:34I remember not panicking and just thinking, "I have to get past her."
0:14:34 > 0:14:41So in terms of me racing, that and Athens was my best 100 metres.
0:14:41 > 0:14:43My 100 metres was always weak.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46And not a huge amount of emotion just as I crossed the finish line
0:14:46 > 0:14:50because I remember seeing Cheri go and just...
0:14:50 > 0:14:52Almost like this impossible lead she had.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55And then when you came back, a lot of public affection for you
0:14:55 > 0:14:58and your profile is raised further still.
0:14:58 > 0:15:02And you know what's coming, don't you? I can feel you sniggering.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05This is Sports Personality of the Year.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08"..who excelled in Sydney this year. Tanni Grey-Thompson."
0:15:08 > 0:15:10APPLAUSE
0:15:10 > 0:15:13Now, you see for this bit, where I'm just sitting there, looking,
0:15:13 > 0:15:16sort of smiling, at this point, I realise I can't get on the stage.
0:15:16 > 0:15:20Um...because there was no ramp. And, um...I kind of...
0:15:20 > 0:15:25When they said, "Sydney," I kind of looked and I thought,
0:15:25 > 0:15:28"What am I going to do?" So I just kind of had to sit there.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31And it was a really strange... I'm kind of actually...
0:15:31 > 0:15:35I'm smiling but I was a bit upset, actually,
0:15:35 > 0:15:39and a bit frustrated that I couldn't get on the stage to get the award.
0:15:39 > 0:15:44But actually, everything that happened afterwards was quite important.
0:15:44 > 0:15:47You were the first paralympic athlete
0:15:47 > 0:15:50to get a Sports Personality of the Year award.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54- Denise Lewis was able to go up and collect her award.- Yep.
0:15:54 > 0:15:56And you're sitting there and...
0:15:56 > 0:16:01Look here, when you're interviewed, again, you're off the dais here.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04- It just looks awful, doesn't it? - It does.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07And it didn't seem that bad at the time, but it felt that
0:16:07 > 0:16:12I just wasn't particularly included in anything that was happening.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15It kind of kicked off sort of very quickly at the end of the show
0:16:15 > 0:16:19when somebody very high up in the Beeb came and apologised.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22And they'd had a massive number of complaints.
0:16:22 > 0:16:24I think on the back of that, actually,
0:16:24 > 0:16:27it changed the way the BBC used contributors,
0:16:27 > 0:16:30it just thought about how it covered sport.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33So much changed because I couldn't get on the stage.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36So, you were glad there was no ramp?
0:16:36 > 0:16:37In a bizarre way, yes.
0:16:37 > 0:16:42Because it gave me a huge amount of publicity, it helped me in terms
0:16:42 > 0:16:47of people getting to know me more as an athlete, seeing how I behave.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50So in a very bizarre way, it kind of made my career.
0:16:50 > 0:16:52Because virtually everywhere I go now, people will say,
0:16:52 > 0:16:55"We've got a ramp." "OK, right, that's fine."
0:16:55 > 0:16:58I don't mind being carried up the stairs,
0:16:58 > 0:17:00but people do make a big effort.
0:17:00 > 0:17:05Did that stimulate your desire to do something politically, I suppose,
0:17:05 > 0:17:09to keep trying to change the system, to keep letting people know?
0:17:09 > 0:17:13I think so. It's hard to know where that interest sort of started.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16Because it was always sort of there in my life.
0:17:16 > 0:17:17For most of my sports career,
0:17:17 > 0:17:20it was about trying to make things better within sport.
0:17:20 > 0:17:22And then around that time, I was also involved with
0:17:22 > 0:17:26the implementation of the Disability Discrimination Act.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28And that's sort of where I started thinking,
0:17:28 > 0:17:32"OK, at some point outside sport, I need to do other things."
0:17:32 > 0:17:36So you started to become much more politically active at least
0:17:36 > 0:17:39in trying to campaign for better rights for disabled athletes.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42And actually, to appear on political programmes, as well,
0:17:42 > 0:17:44like Question Time.
0:17:44 > 0:17:46Yeah. That's fairly terrifying.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48It must be.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51I was the one at that point who wasn't involved in politics.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54So you always know they're going to be a bit nicer to you.
0:17:54 > 0:17:56Um...but a lot of people watch it
0:17:56 > 0:17:59and a lot of people have a view on it.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02So it was a big deal to be on it.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05"..Because race is such an emotive issue..."
0:18:05 > 0:18:08I don't think I've watched it back since I did it.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12Bizarrely, I now sit in the House of Lords with some of these people.
0:18:12 > 0:18:14"For me, racism in any form
0:18:14 > 0:18:17"or discrimination in a wider sense is absolutely abhorrent."
0:18:17 > 0:18:20Yeah. They didn't give me any special favours because...
0:18:20 > 0:18:22They just expect you to go out and do it.
0:18:22 > 0:18:23SIAN CHUCKLES
0:18:23 > 0:18:26"I never thought we'd get rid of the archaic system we had in place
0:18:26 > 0:18:29"where it depended on what family you were born into.
0:18:29 > 0:18:31"I think we've moved forward quite a bit.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34"Not as far as I'd like to, but, er...although I was in school a long time ago,
0:18:34 > 0:18:36"I learnt more about Marie Antoinette and Peter the Great
0:18:36 > 0:18:38"than I did about the British political system.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41"As soon as we can bring that into schools and encourage people
0:18:41 > 0:18:44"to be able to fill in the forms and apply for those positions,
0:18:44 > 0:18:45"the better off we'll be.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47"We will get normal people in the House of Lords."
0:18:47 > 0:18:49APPLAUSE
0:18:49 > 0:18:51LAUGHTER
0:18:51 > 0:18:54Do you know what, I never even vaguely remember that I said that.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56"I'm not a normal person."
0:18:56 > 0:19:00I think at the end there, I'm just going to play it back there,
0:19:00 > 0:19:02I think in the end, you may have even said
0:19:02 > 0:19:05that you don't intend going to the House of Lords.
0:19:05 > 0:19:07- Shall we watch it again? - "..The better off we'll be.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10"And we will get normal people in the House of Lords."
0:19:10 > 0:19:13- "Would you apply?"- "No."
0:19:13 > 0:19:16- "You wouldn't apply?" - "I'm not a normal person."
0:19:16 > 0:19:18LAUGHTER
0:19:18 > 0:19:20"Would you apply?" "No, I'm not a normal person."
0:19:20 > 0:19:22I can't even remember that I said that.
0:19:22 > 0:19:23Well, there you go, that's...
0:19:23 > 0:19:25It's come back to haunt you.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27That is a very strange...
0:19:27 > 0:19:30Yeah, that is a really weird place to kind of sit back
0:19:30 > 0:19:33and listen to that, actually. Wow! Well, there you go.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37It proves you should watch what you say because you never know what's going to come back!
0:19:37 > 0:19:39- And bite you.- Completely.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42So, how did you get into the House of Lords? What was the process like?
0:19:42 > 0:19:44Um...it's a very strange process.
0:19:44 > 0:19:48I was nominated by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and, um...
0:19:48 > 0:19:51A whole pile of people were nominated and I got through
0:19:51 > 0:19:54this very strange interview process which went on for about a year.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58And then one night got an e-mail that just said, "You're in."
0:19:58 > 0:19:59Even as I was going through it,
0:19:59 > 0:20:02I didn't expect to get through it and end up being there.
0:20:02 > 0:20:04And then when I got through, for me,
0:20:04 > 0:20:06it's really important you take it seriously.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09So I'm there pretty much four days a week. You've got to...
0:20:09 > 0:20:11It's got to be like a job.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13It's not something you can drift in and out of.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16Do you remember when you were inaugurated
0:20:16 > 0:20:18and how you felt on that day?
0:20:18 > 0:20:23I remember being terrified. And being really nervous.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26And then I got my gown caught in the front wheel! Oh!
0:20:26 > 0:20:30- What's caught in the front wheel? - The gown, the ermine gown.
0:20:30 > 0:20:32So it just got tangled slightly in my front wheel.
0:20:32 > 0:20:37And, um...you sit there and you swear an oath of allegiance.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41And, um...it's terrifying.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44"I, Tanni, Baroness Grey-Thompson, do swear by Almighty God
0:20:44 > 0:20:48"that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth..."
0:20:48 > 0:20:51I remember my heart racing and feeling more nervous
0:20:51 > 0:20:56than when I was on a track in any of the competitions I competed in.
0:20:56 > 0:21:00And I wanted to do my oath in Welsh. I wasn't allowed a Welsh title.
0:21:01 > 0:21:03SHE SPEAKS WELSH
0:21:03 > 0:21:06This is what I was scared of doing. My Welsh is dreadful.
0:21:06 > 0:21:08I didn't know there were words for baroness, oath, allegiance.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11Erm, and I remember, just really...
0:21:13 > 0:21:16I think you can see the relief on my face when I get through it.
0:21:16 > 0:21:20And the clerk, here, he's Welsh-speaking and he took me
0:21:20 > 0:21:22aside before we went in and said,
0:21:22 > 0:21:25"The English-speaking peers won't have a clue what you're saying,
0:21:25 > 0:21:28"and the Welsh-speaking peers will be so grateful you've done it,
0:21:28 > 0:21:31"you can pronounce every word wrong and it'll be fine!"
0:21:31 > 0:21:32And then I went in and did it.
0:21:32 > 0:21:34So why aren't you Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson
0:21:34 > 0:21:36of Heath, in Cardiff?
0:21:36 > 0:21:41Well, the chap who was in charge of titles at the time was slightly
0:21:41 > 0:21:44grumpy about the geographical designation.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47And because I don't live in Cardiff any more,
0:21:47 > 0:21:49he said, "It has to be where you live."
0:21:49 > 0:21:51There's all this stuff that's thrown at you,
0:21:51 > 0:21:53and you don't know the rules.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56I didn't grow up in a family who knew who Garter King of Arms
0:21:56 > 0:21:59was or any of that stuff,
0:21:59 > 0:22:02so I sat there filling in all these forms and just went, "OK."
0:22:02 > 0:22:05And actually, I could have completely demanded that
0:22:05 > 0:22:07I had a Welsh title.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10For me, that was why it was important that
0:22:10 > 0:22:12I had a link back to being Welsh, that I did my oath in Welsh.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15Cos you were living in County Durham at the time, of course,
0:22:15 > 0:22:19Ian, your husband and your daughter are still there.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23So you're Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson of...
0:22:23 > 0:22:26- Eaglescliffe, in the county of Durham.- In the county of Durham.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29Has Carys been to see you, your daughter, in the House of Lords?
0:22:29 > 0:22:33Carys comes in. She has sat through quite a few debates.
0:22:33 > 0:22:35We were in a very long welfare reform debate
0:22:35 > 0:22:37and she was sat at the back.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40I was following the debate on Twitter and somebody said,
0:22:40 > 0:22:43"I can't believe somebody has brought a child into welfare reform.
0:22:43 > 0:22:45"What kind of cruel mother's that?"
0:22:45 > 0:22:48And in a break they saw me talk to her, "Oh, sorry."
0:22:48 > 0:22:50- "That cruel mother." - "That cruel mother."
0:22:50 > 0:22:52Um, she comes in a reasonable amount.
0:22:52 > 0:22:56I think it's important cos I'm away from her for four days a week,
0:22:56 > 0:22:59so I'm choosing to be away from her, which sounds harsh,
0:22:59 > 0:23:02but it's important for her to understand what I'm trying to do.
0:23:02 > 0:23:07Because it's not easy on her that I'm not there all the time.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10And I just buy lots of cakes in the tea room and she's fine.
0:23:10 > 0:23:12At the moment.
0:23:12 > 0:23:13How easy is it for you?
0:23:15 > 0:23:21It's hard being away from her cos I miss lots of...
0:23:21 > 0:23:24It's the little things you miss - the drive home from school,
0:23:24 > 0:23:27sitting having a meal together, the big stuff.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30I try very hard to be at the Christmas plays,
0:23:30 > 0:23:34a lot of the sports competitions - there is stuff I can't get to.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37But I try to be really honest with her about what I can be at
0:23:37 > 0:23:39and what I can't be at.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41Ian's great cos he goes to everything.
0:23:41 > 0:23:43I feel guilty.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46I feel guilty when I'm at home and thinking about work.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49I feel guilty when I'm at work and thinking about her.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52She doesn't know any other life, so hopefully, you know,
0:23:52 > 0:23:54she just is OK with it.
0:23:56 > 0:23:58I suppose I'm asking, are you OK with it?
0:23:58 > 0:24:00Erm...
0:24:00 > 0:24:02Most of the time I'm OK with it.
0:24:02 > 0:24:06Most of the time, because I do disability rights,
0:24:06 > 0:24:08I do legal aid, it's about a lot of vulnerable people who
0:24:08 > 0:24:14can't help themselves, so I've got a big enough voice to speak.
0:24:14 > 0:24:15It's not easy but, but...
0:24:18 > 0:24:19It's a decision I've made.
0:24:20 > 0:24:24And talking of big enough voices to be heard, there was a very big voice
0:24:24 > 0:24:30who's very influential to you, right at the very beginning of your life.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33And to your father as well. This is Baroness Warnock.
0:24:33 > 0:24:38Who all those years ago, in the '70s, was fighting...
0:24:39 > 0:24:42'What shocked us at the time...'
0:24:42 > 0:24:45Actually, sitting in the chamber with her and saying to her,
0:24:45 > 0:24:48"Because of you," so I get to call her my noble friend
0:24:48 > 0:24:52Baroness Warnock, "Because of you, I'm here."
0:24:52 > 0:24:54It was a big deal for me emotionally.
0:24:54 > 0:24:56She did just look at me like I was slightly strange.
0:24:56 > 0:25:01I was kind of hoping for this big bonding moment which didn't happen.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03'..Cannot be ignored.'
0:25:03 > 0:25:07It made me realise the power of the Lords to do different things,
0:25:07 > 0:25:11and the opportunity I have to change things for other people.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16It's very weird speaking in the chamber, still.
0:25:16 > 0:25:18It takes a long time to get used to it.
0:25:18 > 0:25:20But for me, it was really important to say thank you to her,
0:25:20 > 0:25:23because without her I wouldn't have been there.
0:25:23 > 0:25:24And I suppose you were saying thank you
0:25:24 > 0:25:26on behalf of your father as well, weren't you?
0:25:26 > 0:25:29Yeah, I mean...
0:25:29 > 0:25:33Dad saw me go into the House of Lords and then he died soon after.
0:25:33 > 0:25:37I wish he could have seen that, cos that would have been cool.
0:25:37 > 0:25:41But Dad was amazing and he used everything he could to help me.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44And that shaped so much of my life.
0:25:44 > 0:25:46But it's even...
0:25:46 > 0:25:49When I got into the Lords and I rang him and said, "Dad, I'm in."
0:25:49 > 0:25:51He just said, "Before you get too excited,
0:25:51 > 0:25:54"make sure they've got the right Tanni Grey-Thompson."
0:25:54 > 0:25:56What can you do to keep your family happy?
0:25:56 > 0:25:59Dad would have been proud of that. Definitely would have been proud of that.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02It must have been a very, very big moment.
0:26:02 > 0:26:06And...I wonder where it's going now really, for you.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10Where do you see your life in the future?
0:26:10 > 0:26:13There's lots I'd like to do on disability rights legislation.
0:26:13 > 0:26:17The built environment is still not right.
0:26:17 > 0:26:19I'd love to make it a criminal offence for someone without
0:26:19 > 0:26:22a blue badge to park in blue badge space.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25That might never happen, but it's on my list.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28Right now, I'm happier as a parliamentarian than I think
0:26:28 > 0:26:34I was in sport, because I kind of feel like the stuff that I'm
0:26:34 > 0:26:37doing, some of it's good, some of it's not -
0:26:37 > 0:26:39more of it's good than not.
0:26:39 > 0:26:43So I kind of see that I'd like to keep trying to change things and
0:26:43 > 0:26:47keep being that person who keeps saying, "No, it's not good enough."
0:26:47 > 0:26:49In your first book, you asked yourself the question,
0:26:49 > 0:26:51"What have I achieved?"
0:26:52 > 0:26:54What do you think the answer to that would be?
0:26:56 > 0:26:59Erm, not enough.
0:26:59 > 0:27:00I'm never happy.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02As an athlete I was all right.
0:27:02 > 0:27:04By the time I got to the end there was nothing else I could do,
0:27:04 > 0:27:08so I'd like to be remembered as a good athlete.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11And I'd like to be remembered as somebody who changed
0:27:11 > 0:27:13things for the better.
0:27:13 > 0:27:15But, eh, yeah, I'm never very happy.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19I always think I can do better, so I want to be better than I am now.
0:27:20 > 0:27:22Why?
0:27:24 > 0:27:27I think it's the expectation that my parents had for me.
0:27:27 > 0:27:29As much as they gave me loads of confidence to deal with
0:27:29 > 0:27:33the things I was doing, they expected a lot from me.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37They expected me to be good and disciplined and to win.
0:27:37 > 0:27:41Or to be the best that I could on the day and hopefully win.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44And I think they would have expected me to be a good parliamentarian,
0:27:44 > 0:27:46so even though they're not around any more,
0:27:46 > 0:27:49I feel they're still there somewhere.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52You know, I can hear my dad say,
0:27:52 > 0:27:55"Is that really the best you could do? Are you sure?"
0:27:55 > 0:27:57So, there's this...
0:27:57 > 0:27:59I still feel this huge pressure to
0:27:59 > 0:28:01live up to everything Mum and Dad gave me.
0:28:01 > 0:28:05It's hard, but most of time, it's a really,
0:28:05 > 0:28:07really positive thing to have in my life.
0:28:07 > 0:28:09They would be really proud of you.
0:28:09 > 0:28:10I hope so!
0:28:10 > 0:28:14Erm, they never said but I'd
0:28:14 > 0:28:17like to think that they would be.
0:28:17 > 0:28:19I'm so glad Dad saw me go into the House of Lords.
0:28:19 > 0:28:21For me, that was amazing.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24But, you know, my father had a lot of faith
0:28:24 > 0:28:26and he always said he'd be watching.
0:28:26 > 0:28:29That's one of the last things he said to me, "I'll be watching you."
0:28:29 > 0:28:30And, eh...
0:28:30 > 0:28:32Yeah, he probably is.
0:28:32 > 0:28:34Looking down on you and incredibly proud
0:28:34 > 0:28:38- of what you've achieved so far. - Yeah, I hope he is proud.
0:28:38 > 0:28:41I hope he's proud of the things I haven't yet done.
0:28:41 > 0:28:43Cos that's what he'd expect of me as well.