Olympic silver medallist Keely Hodgkinson is thrilled to give athletics fans a sneak peek at how she is aiming to upgrade to gold in Paris as part of two fly-on-the-wall documentaries.

Channel 4 cameras will follow some of Britain’s biggest athletics stars during their preparation and training for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris this summer. Two documentaries, in partnership with The National Lottery, will provide a unique insight into the journey an athlete takes and the sacrifices they make to be able to compete for Olympic or Paralympic gold.

Nine athletes, including Hodgkinson, world champion pair Josh Kerr and Jake Wightman and Paralympic champions Jonnie Peacock and Hannah Cockroft, will allow fans a behind-the-scenes peek of what it takes to succeed at the very highest level of the sport.

Episode one will follow four athletes that all have the dream of becoming the next Olympic champion in track and field, while episode two will shine a spotlight on five outstanding Paralympians as they set out on a mission to light up the stadium in Paris.

Hodgkinson said: “Getting to compete at an Olympic Games and representing your country is such a special feeling, but people watching from their TVs at home never see what it takes to reach the start line.

“National Lottery players have transformed athletics and para-athletics in the UK but you don’t often see how that investment powers us to win. You don’t see the hours in the gym, the time spent with physiotherapists, nutritionists, strength and conditioning, and our coaches working through our training plans. None of this would be possible without that investment.

“Being part of this documentary will give people an insight into how we train, our day-to-day lives before a major competition and the challenges you have to overcome to race against the best in the world. I love my sport and I want to let people see what goes into those few minutes on the track in front of the world.”

The series will explore what it takes to be a professional athlete heading to a Summer Games. Each athlete has a unique story to tell, and the series will follow their gruelling training sessions, championship battles and the challenge of trying to qualify for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Viewers will be introduced to the high-performance support environment, enabled by National Lottery players, including coaches, nutritionists, physiotherapists and psychologists. This team that sits behind every elite athlete will give a unique insight into the mentality and physicality of an elite sportsperson fighting to represent their country.

Peacock added: “This is an incredible opportunity for us as athletes to give people a behind-the-scenes look into what preparation for a Games looks like.

“We as a country have been really successful in track and field over the years and that is in large part thanks to National Lottery investment. It enables us to have World class facilities and support. This, paired with hours and hours of intense training, is why we’re a global force. I’m excited to take fans on the journey with us to Paris.”

The nine athletes set to take part in the documentary are just some of the 1,000 elite athletes on UK Sport’s National Lottery-funded World Class Programme. They are Hodgkinson, Kerr, Wightman and high jumper Morgan Lake in the first documentary. The second will feature Peacock, Cockroft, long-jumper Zak Skinner, shot put and discus thrower Funmi Oduwaiye and wheelchair racer Nathan Maguire.