Olympic gold medallist Jonathan Edwards is about to make a leap of faith - by fronting Songs of Praise in May.

The triple jump hero, a committed Christian, will present the programme from his home city of Newcastle in March.

He has often spoken of how his faith has helped him through difficult times in his life and inspired him to glory at the Sydney Olympics, in 2000.

He is said to be looking forward to the challenge of presenting the programme.

A BBC spokeswoman said: "Researchers are finding locations and people to interview."