BBC radio presenter Rena Annobil has opened up about her ‘love-hate’ relationship with swimming as she prepares to take on an epic challenge for Children in Need.

Rena broadcasts her program on BBC Local radio stations in the South and South East on Monday evenings, celebrating the art, culture and music of South Asia.

She is based in Berkshire and is part of a team of five at BBC Radio Berkshire who look after The Thousand Mile Challenge for needy children.

However, there were years when Rena did not swim.

She said: “I was a bit overweight kid, always picked last for teams and I was very conscious of being seen in a bathing suit.

“I think about it now and think, why did that make me stop swimming for years?

“It wasn’t supposed to be, but it happened – I didn’t go for years because of it and I just needed the right swimsuit.”

Rena believes things have changed now, with more options available.

She said: “If you’re someone who wears a hijab, for example, you can get swimwear that covers you, you can go to women-only sessions if you feel more comfortable with that.

“There are options and I don’t want anyone to feel that way again, that swimming is not for me.”

Rena trained for the challenge, which sees BBC radio stations across the UK teaming up to swim 1,000 miles, with each station team attempting to complete 24 miles between 4 and 8 November.

She said: “I think what I have is stamina, I can go on.

“It doesn’t look pretty, but I can go for quite a while.”

Statistics show that participation in swimming is significantly lower among people from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.

Figures from Sport England reveal that around 95% of black adults and 93% of Asian adults in the UK do not swim.

Rena believes there are a number of reasons why people in the South Asian community have historically not learned to swim, but says things are changing.

She said: “I think for people of my generation there was an affordability issue, like our parents just came here and there was no time or money for swimming lessons.

“But now I think people in South Asia are much more aware of the importance of swimming and sports, so more parents are putting their children in lessons.

“Also, depending on your religious background, you wouldn’t want to be seen in a bathing suit in a mixed setting, so I think that was a barrier as well, and that’s why I think it’s amazing that different types of swimwear is out there and it’s amazing that there are women-only sessions that you can go to and I feel like more people need to be aware of them.”

Rena, a mother of three, jumped at the chance to join the swim team and raise money for Children in Need but she also wanted to send a message to her daughters.

“I want them to know that their mom might not be the greatest swimmer technically, but I’m up for the challenge and I’m going to push myself and it’s never too late to do that,” she said.

Rena also talked about the upcoming challenge and her preparation with her radio listeners and hopes that she might also encourage one or two of them to give it a go.

“I would absolutely love it if something I said or did or my content on my show inspired other people to take up swimming – I think that would be amazing,” she added.

The BBC Radio Berkshire Swimming Team is Rena Annobil, Phil Mercer, Sali Shobowale, Katherine Bett and Ben Pritchard.

You can hear Rena Annobil on Mondays, between 19:00 and 22:00.