Sir Bradley Wiggins: I couldn’t see hope or joy

''There were periods when I couldn’t see any hope or joy,'' says British cycling champion Sir Bradley Wiggins in a deeply personal interview with Anna Foster

The first Briton to win the Tour de France, he collected five Olympic gold medals throughout his career. But his stellar reputation came under attack as he faced allegations of doping. What followed was a descent into drug addiction that was fueled, he says, by the pain of an absent father and the abuse he suffered at the hands of a coach, all while growing up in the public eye.

Today he is a “better version of himself”, supported by close family, clean of drugs for a year and in therapy. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC. You can listen on the BBC World Service, Mondays and Wednesdays at 0700 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out twice a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Anna Foster Producers: Jade Lauriston and Lucy Sheppard Editor: Justine Lang

Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: Sir Bradley Wiggins Credit: Nordin Catic/Getty Images)