Olympic triple jump champion Jonathan Edwards is to take on a new role overseeing standards of taste and decency on television, it was announced today.

The gold medal-winning athlete turned presenter of BBC's Songs Of Praise is joining the content board of new communications regulator Ofcom.

Edwards, 36, will become England's representative on the board, responsible for looking at television and radio standards, accuracy and fairness.

He will champion the cause of listeners and viewers on subjects including the amount of sex and violence on TV.

Edwards, the son of an Anglican minister, is a committed Christian whose favourite books are The Lord of the Rings and the Bible.

He has often credited his faith in God for his sporting success and during the early stages of his career refused to compete on Sundays.

The father-of-two, who lives in Newcastle, now combines athletics with television presenting.

Ofcom is being created to replace the four existing communications regulators: The Independent Television Commission, The Broadcasting Standards Commission, The Office of Telecommunications (Oftel) and The Radio Authority.

Other members of the content board announced today today include former Playschool presenter Floella Benjamin, who now runs her own production company.

The other regional representatives are Sue Balsom, former vice chairman of the Broadcasting Council for Wales; Rosemary Kelly, former head of public affairs and secretary to the BBC in Northern Ireland; and Matthew MacIver, chief executive/registrar of the General Teaching Council for Scotland.

The board will meet for the first time in May and Ofcom will be operational by the end of the year.