Dame Kelly Holmes reveals heart-stopping moment she met her sister

Dame Kelly Holmes has revealed the heart-stopping moment she learned she had a sister at the age of 16.

The Olympic gold medal runner, 54, was born to Jamaican-born car mechanic Derrick and her English mother Pam - but her father left when she was one. 

Appearing on the Loose Women panel on Wednesday, Kelly revealed how the first time she met her father was when she was 16 years old - and it only happened because she discovered she had a sister. 

'The funny thing is I only met him (her father) when I was 16 because I bumped into my sister in a supermarket,' Kelly said. 'It's a long story really, but it's just the fact that I didn't know him and we live in Kent. 

'It happened to be when I was 16, we were in the supermarket and I saw this mixed race girl with this white woman and they said my name.'

Kelly added: 'I wondered who it was and, to cut a long story short, I found out I had a sister and he was only living six miles away. So he's my biological father.'

The sportswoman spent time in care as a young child after concerns that her mother, who gave birth to her at the age of 17, couldn't cope with raising a baby by herself. Dame Kelly's dad Derrick left before she was one.

While Kelly spent periods of time in care, her mother always came back to collect her, later marrying painter and decorator Mick Holmes when Kelly was four, who she regards as her father.

Later in the episode - which celebrated Kelly's incredible care - she was reunited with Paris Olympic gold medallist Keely Hodgkinson. 

Keely was the first British woman to win gold in the 800m in 20 years, since Dame Kelly in Athens in 2004.

On the show, Kelly and Keely came face to face where the former gushed over the young runner's performance. 

'I was there and it was just the most incredible race because you were so confident, so strong and it was yours to lose really,' Kelly said. 

'You'd won multiple silvers at world championships and in Tokyo, so gold was your mission - how did it feel to finally do it?'

Keely replied: 'I think all Olympians have the same feeling of relief, after gearing up for this big moment after we met back in April, and it was in my mind that I just wanted to upgrade to Gold so to finally do it, I was overjoyed and happy and you're filled with so much adrenaline. 

'It really was one of the best moments of my life.' 

Talking about her current injury and when she might be able to return to the sport, Keely revealed: 'I took a couple of weeks off, and when I got back into training, I felt a little niggle and I think I actually did do it in Paris, but the overriding adrenaline you forget about it and get through it. 

'So this has kept me out for the rest of the year, but I wasn't too disappointed. 

'Ultimately, I've achieved everything I wanted to and more this year, so I'm super grateful and I'll be back next year.' 

Discussing how she hasn't always had it easy, and suffers with hearing loss, Keely explained: 'I like to say that as my "Fun fact that I'm half deaf in one ear", but I've always had hearing problems growing up and about ten years ago they discovered some kind of non-cancerous tumour growing and it grew and crushed all my hearing bones. 

'The problem I had was that it was almost touching the nerve in my spine and would have resulted in facial palsy if not removed quickly - which was quite scary for a thirteen-year-old me.

'But the surgeons did a great job and they removed it and I'm all good now.'