Sport and Leisure/Sports Personality of the Year

The BBC Sports Personality of the Year is an awards ceremony that takes place annually in December. Devised by Paul Fox in 1954, it originally consisted of one titular award. Several new awards have been introduced, and currently^[update] eight awards are presented. The oldest of these are the Team of the Year and Overseas Personality awards, which were introduced in 1960. A Lifetime Achievement Award was first given in 1995 and again in 1996, and has been presented annually since 2001. In 1999, three more awards were introduced: the Helen Rollason Award, the Coach Award, and the Newcomer Award, which was renamed to Young Sports Personality of the Year in 2001. The newest is the Unsung Hero Award, first presented in 2003. In 2003, the 50th anniversary of the show was marked by a five-part series on BBC One called ‘Simply The Best – Sports Personality’. It was presented by Gary Lineker and formed part of a public vote to determine a special Golden Sports Personality of the Year. That year Steve Rider and Martyn Smith wrote a book reflecting on the 50-year history of the award and the programme. The event was held outside London for the first time in 2006, when tickets were made available to the public.

History

The BBC's Sports Personality of the Year was created by Paul Fox, who came up with the idea while he was editor of the magazine show Sportsview. The first award ceremony took place in 1954 as part of Sportsview, and was presented by Peter Dimmock. The programme was edited by Paul Fox and produced by Dennis Monger. Held at the Savoy Hotel on 30 December 1954 as part of the established Sporting Record awards, the show lasted 45 minutes. It consisted of one titular award for the sportsperson judged by the public to have achieved the most that year. Voting was by postcard, and rules presented in a Radio Times article stipulated that nominations were restricted to athletes who had featured on the Sportsview programme since April. For the inaugural BBC Sportsperson of the Year award, 14,517 votes were cast and Christopher Chataway beat fellow athlete Roger Bannister. The following year the show was renamed Sports Review of the Year and given a longer duration of 75 minutes.

In 1960 Dimmock presented the show, and introduced two new awards: the Team of the Year award and the Overseas Personality award, won by the Cooper Car Company and athlete Herb Elliott respectively. David Coleman joined the show the following year and remained a co-presenter until 1983. Swimmer Anita Lonsbrough became the first female recipient of the main award in 1962; females won it in the following two years as well. Frank Bough took over as presenter in 1964 and presented Sports Review for 18 years. In 1969, a new Manager of the Year award was given to Don Revie for his achievements with Leeds United, the only occasion it was presented. In the following year boxer Henry Cooper became the first person to win the main award twice, having already won in 1967.

During the 1970s Bough and Coleman presided over the ceremony alongside Jimmy Hill, Cliff Morgan, Kenneth Wolstenholme, and Harry Carpenter, who also went on to present the show for much of the 1980s. Des Lynam presented from 1983, and presided over figure skating duo Torvill and Dean's win the following year, when they became the first non-individual winners of the main award. Steve Rider co-presented the 1986 show with Lynam, at which a Special Team Award was presented to Great Britain men’s 4 x 400 m relay team. In the 1980s, Steve Davis finished in the top three on five occasions, including one win in 1988. In 1991, angler Bob Nudd received the most votes following a campaign in the Angling Times. However the BBC deemed this to be against the rules and "discarded all the ballots cast on forms printed in the Angling Times", allowing athlete Liz McColgan to win the award. The following year racing driver Nigel Mansell became the second person to win the main award twice, having won his first in 1986. Sue Barker presented the show for the first time in 1994, at which racing driver Damon Hill won the first of his two awards, the second coming two years later. Boxer Frank Bruno was the inaugural winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996

In 1999 the show was renamed Sports Personality of the Year, and Gary Lineker joined the show as a co-presenter alongside Barker. Barker and Lineker were supported by John Inverdale and Clare Balding that year. The ceremony introduced a further three regular awards: Coach of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, and a Helen Rollason Award for "outstanding courage and achievement in the face of adversity". In a one-off award, boxer Muhammad Ali was voted as the Sports Personality of the Century. Leading up to the anniversary show on 14 December 2003, a series of five half-hour special programmes, entitled Simply The Best – Sports Personality, were broadcast. Hosted by Gary Lineker, the episodes were shown on BBC One for five consecutive nights during 8 – 12 December 2008; each covered one decade of Sports Personality history. At the beginning of each special programme the public could vote for a past winner. The five most popular winners were announced at the start of the anniversary ceremony as a shortlist for one of two special 50th Anniversary awards.  From the shortlist, rower Steve Redgrave was voted Golden Sports Personality of the Year by the public. The England World Cup–winning team of 1966 won a Team of the Decades award, voted for by representatives from all previous Teams of the Year.

In 2006, for the first time in its 53-year history, the event was held outside London, in Birmingham's National Exhibition Centre (NEC). For the first time, tickets for the event were made available to the public, and 3,000 were sold in the first hour. That year, Adrian Chiles joined the show and co-presented alongside Barker and Lineker for two years. The 2007 ceremony was the first of a two-year sponsorship deal with Britvic's brand Robinsons, and the capacity of the NEC was increased from 5,000 to 8,000. The event sold out, but the sponsorship deal was shortened to one year after complaints by ITV and RadioCentre caused the BBC Trust to rule in June 2008 that "Editorial Guidelines were breached and the editorial integrity of the BBC compromised by giving the impression to licence fee payers via Sports Personality of the Year that part of a BBC service had been sponsored.” They decided that the 2008 awards should not be broadcast as a sponsored event, and no new sponsorship deal was negotiated after the Britvic deal expired. In February 2008, the BBC announced that the 2008 Sports Personality of the Year event would be held at the Echo Arena, Liverpool. One reason for the move to Liverpool was to allow greater numbers to view the show live, as the 10,600-seater venue in Liverpool had a bigger capacity than the NEC. That year Jake Humphrey replaced Chiles as co-presenter.

In 2014, the ceremony was held in Scotland for the first time in its history, at The SSE Hydro in Glasgow. In 2015, the ceremony was held in Northern Ireland for the first time, at the SSE Arena in Belfast. In 2018 the BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year award was renamed World Sport Star of the Year.

Trophy

The trophy for the main award was commissioned from John Proctor of the Palace of Arts, Wembley, and cost about £1,000. It was first presented to the inaugural winner, Christopher Chataway, in 1954. It is a silver-plated four-turret lens camera, one sixth scale, with the name of each winner engraved on individual shields attached to a plinth underneath the camera. The trophy originally had one plinth, but two more were added to create room for more shields. A replica trophy was made in 1981 and sent to Australia in case Ian Botham won the award while playing cricket there – which he did. The original trophy is still used for the ceremony, and is engraved after the show before being given to the winner, who keeps it for eight or nine months. The trophies for second and third place, and for the other awards, are smaller imitations of the main trophy, but have in the past been silver salvers. For the two special awards celebrating the 50th Anniversary, and for the Sports Personality of the Century award, similar miniature trophies were presented but they were gold in colour.

Intermittent awards

Manager of the Year

1969           Don Revie              Leeds Utd

Special Achievement Award

1981           Dennis Moore                   Blind London marathon runner

1984           Lester Piggott

1995           Lester Piggott

2006           David Walliams

2009           Eddie Izzard

2022 Kevin Sinfield

International Team Award

1983           Alan Bond and the crew of Australia II

Special Team Award

1986           Men’s 4x400m relay team (Derek Redmond, Kriss Akabusi, Brian Whittle, Roger Black, Todd Bennett, and Phil Brown)

Good Sport Awards

1990           Derek Warwick, Martin Donnelly, Louise Aitken-Walker, Tina Thorner        All involved in motor racing accidents

Sports Personality of the Century Award

1999           Muhammad Ali        Muhammad Ali accumulated more votes from BBC viewers than the combined total of George Best, Pele, Donald Bradman, Jack Nicklaus, and Jesse Owens

Special Gold Award

2005           Sebastian Coe        For chairing London's winning bid for the 2012 Olympics

Golden Sports Personality of the Year (50^th anniversary award)

2003           Steve Redgrave      Shortlist – Redgrave, Botham, Beckham, Moore, Torvill and Dean

Team of the Decades (50^th anniversary award)

2003           England 1966 World Cup team

Diamond Award

2013           Alex Ferguson

Venues

1954 – 1956         Savoy Hotel

1957 – 1958         Grosvenor House Hotel

1959, 1965 – 1976          BBC Television Theatre

1960 – 1964, 1978 – 1988, 1999 – 2005        BBC Television Centre

1977                    New London Theatre

1998 – 1999         Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre

2006 – 2007         National Exhibition Centre

2008                    Echo Arena, Liverpool

2009                    Sheffield Arena

2010                    LG Arena, Birmingham

2011                    MediaCity, Salford

2012                    ExCeL

2013                    First Direct Arena, Leeds

2014                    SSE Hydro, Glasgow

2015                    Odyssey Arena, Belfast

2016                     Genting Arena, Birmingham

2017                     Echo Arena, Liverpool

2018                     Genting Arena, Birmingham

2019                     P&J Live, Aberdeen

2020 – 2022         Media City, Salford

Awards by year

1954

1^st Chris Chataway

2^nd Roger Bannister

3^rd Pat Smythe

The location was the Lancaster Room in the Savoy Hotel. It was expected that Bannister would win, having broken the four minute barrier for the mile – but the coverage was screened a day late and was shot by a single camera. A few weeks before viewers were asked to make their decision, Chataway had beaten Vladimir Kuts at White City, and taken five seconds off the world 5000m record.

A total of 14517 votes were cast, and more than a third went to Chataway. Eligibility for the award was restricted to sportsmen or women since its launch in April 1954. Stanley Matthews was fourth, Geoff Duke was fifth, and Billy Wright was sixth.

1955

1^st Gordon Pirie

No record of the second and third place winners survives

The show had grown from 45 to 75 minutes and Peter Dimmock was joined by Max Robertson. Len Martin provided the ‘newsreel voice’.

Gordon Pirie has beaten Zatopek in a 10000m race, which prompted people to vote for him. When he collected his award, he expressed his surprise at winning, then made a speech criticising sports journalists. Other leading contenders were Donald Campbell, Peter May, Don Cockell and Stirling Moss

1956

1^st Jim Laker

No record of the second and third place winners survives

The show took place on 9 January, 1957, the only time the programme wasn’t held in the year that it celebrated. This was because the Daily Express had purchased the Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year awards from the Sporting Record and was unable to organise the event until January

At the end of the programme Peter Dimmock announced that the top names in rthe voting were Chris Brasher, Donald Campbell, Bert Trautmann, Peter May and Jim Laker. However, the final order was never confirmed.

The BBC was unable to use any of the footage from the Olympic Games due to a dispute

1957

1^st Dai Rees

No record of the second and third place winners survives

The programme was switched to the Great Room at the Grosvenor House. Bryan Cowgill took over as producer.

The programme ended with a dramatic flourish and a fanfare by four trumpeters from the Royal Military School of Music before the toastmaster, John Mills, announced the arrival of the Ryder Cup team onto the stage. Peter Dimmock presented the award to Dai Rees, who was the first Welsh winner and the oldest winner (aged 44)

Rees had inspired Great Britani and Ireland to their first Ryder Cup win since 1935, in the match played at Lindrick in Yorkshire

1958

1^st Ian Black

2^nd Bobby Charlton

3^rd Nat Lofthouse

Black was the first Scottish winner and the youngest winner (aged 17). He had won three gold medals in the European Championships, as well as gold and two silvers at the Empire Games

1959

1^st John Surtees

2^nd Bobby Charlton

3^rd Ian Black

The programme moved to the Television Theatre in Shepherd’s Bush, and broke away from the Daily Express awards. With a full stage to work with, the production team brought in cars and props.

David Coleman appeared for the first time. Jack Brabham pushed his car into the studio, recreating the moment when his car ran out of petrol on the last lap in the final race of the season in Florida.

John Surtees won both the 350cc and 500cc world titles, and retained both titles in 1960

1960

1^st David Broome

2^nd Don Thompson

3^rd Anita Lonsbrough

Overseas – Herb Elliott

Team – Cooper Motor Racing

Peter Dimmock announced the introduction of two new trophies: the International award and the Team of the Year award.

David Coleman interviewed Beryl Burton, “You’ve also got a job, you’re a housewife and you’ve got a child”. Burton replied that she would turn professional if she was offered £20 a week and a pound a week.

As Broome wanted to be handed the trophy, his horse, Sunsalve, was brought into the studio.

The Cooper team had taken Jack Brabham to the World Championship for the second time. His team mate Bruce McLaren was runner-up. Real Madrid beat Eintracht Frankfurt 7-3 in the European Cup final, but they were not candidates for what was purely a domestic team award in the gift of Paul Fox.

The Sports Review music was first used in 1960. It is called ‘Pioneer Trail’ and was composed by Charles Williams and played by the Melody Light Orchestra.

On the day the show was broadcast (14 December) West Indies and Australia took part in the first Test match to end in a tie.

1961

1^st Stirling Moss

2^nd Billy Walker

3^rd Angela Mortimer

Overseas – Valery Brumel

Team – Tottenham Hotspur

Harry Carpenter made his first studio appearance on the show. Peter West was a co-presenter for the first time.

Moss was presented with his award by Sir Stanley Rous.

Brumel set a new world record in the high jump of 7’ 4 ½”

Spurs won the double, captained by Danny Blanchflower and managed by Bill Nicholson

1962

1^st Anita Lonsbrough

2^nd Dorothy Hyman

3^rd Linda Ludgrove

Overseas – Donald Jackson

Team – BRM

Lonsbrough won three Empire and one European gold, and set two world records. First woman to win. Only occasion when sportswomen have filled the top three places.

Linda Ludgrove won two backstroke golds at the Empire Games in Perth.

Graham Hill won the world championship, and his BRM team won the Team of the Year award.

Donald Jackson was a Canadian figure skater. Alan Weeks presented him with the award at Streatham ice rink.

1963

1^st Dorothy Hyman

2^nd Bobby McGregor

3^rd Jim Clark

Overseas – Jacques Anquetil

Team – West Indies cricket

Alun Williams interviewed the All Blacks in Cardiff. Frank Windsor voiced a film focusing on the problems that football was facing.

Dorothy Hyman won two medals in Rome, and won another in Tokyo. Learie Constantine presented the trophy

Bobbie McGregor became the first Briton to hold a world sprint record

Jim Clark was world champion in 1963

West Indies captain Frank Worrell flew in to collect the team award

1964

1^st Mary Rand

2^nd Barry Briggs

3^rd Ann Packer

Overseas – Abele Bikila

Team – England youth football

Frank Bough succeeded Peter Dimmock as the main presenter. Len Martin introduced Britain’s five gold medalists, who were standing in giant rings at the back of the set. Harry Carpenter interviewed boxers in a mock gym. Fred Trueman was in a gloomy mood when interviewed by Peter West, as he had been omitted from the squad to tour South Africa.

Lord Mounbatten made the presentation as the trumpeters played ‘Tokyo Melody’

Mary Rand won gold in the long jump, silver in the pentathlon and bronze in the 4x100m relay at the Olympics

Barry Briggs was world speedway champion

Ann Packer won gold in the 800m and silver in the 400m at the Olympics

Abebe Bikila was presented with his award by Haile Selassie

The England youth squad successfully defended the Youth World Cup. Stanley Rous presented the trophy

A wedding cake was presented to Ann Packer and Robbie Brightwell

1965

1^st Tommy Simpson

2^nd Jim Clark

3^rd Marion Coakes

Overseas – Ron Clarke and Gary Player

Team – West Ham

First programme featuring Graham Hill chatting to Jackie Stewart

Tommy Simpson was Britain’s first ever road race world champion. Died in 1967

Jim Clark won the world championship

Marion Coakes, aged 18, won the World Championship, on Stroller

The Overseas awartd was shared for the first time

West Ham beat Munich 1860 in the European Cup Winners’ Cup final at Wembley

First programme edited by Alan Hart, who remained at the helm for 12 shows

1966

1^st Bobby Moore

2^nd Barry Briggs

3^rd Geoff Hurst

Overseas – Eusebio and Gary Sobers

Team – England football

Barry Briggs won his fourth world title

Bobby Moore became the first person to win both the individual and team awards. Steve Redgrave is the only other person to have collected both in the same year

The Team award was presented to Alf Ramsey by Helmet Schoen, the manager of West Germany

Eusebio won the Golden Boot for scoring nine goals in the World Cup

Gary Sobers averaged 103 in the Test series against England

1967

1^st Henry Cooper

2^nd Beryl Burton

3^rd Harvey Smith

Team – Celtic

Overseas – George Moore

Cooper defended his British and Commonwealth titles, defeating Jack Bodell and Billy Walker

Harvey Smith was in the studio with Harvester

Francis Chichester presented the main award

Matt Busby presented Jock Stein with the Team award

Australian jockey George Moore rode 72 winners, including Royal Palace in the Derby. At 44 he was the oldest winner of the award, which was presented to him in Sydney by Bobbie Simpson

1968

1^st David Hemery

2^nd Graham Hill

3^rd Marion Coakes

Team – Man Utd

Overseas – Oleg Protopopov and Ludmila Belousova

As in 1964, the five gold medalists stood in giant Olympic rings. Alongside them stood David Hemery.

Ron Clarke presented the trophy to Hemery

Graham Hill won his second World Championship

Marion Coakes won a silver medal on Stroller

Jack Charlton presented the Team award to Bobby

Protopopov and Belousova were the first married couple to receive an award. They won the Olympic pairs ice skating title in 1964 and 1968, as well as four successive world championships from 1965

1969

1^st Ann Jones

2^nd Tony Jacklin

3^rd George Best

Team – Women’s 4x400m relay, Ryder Cup

Overseas – Rod Laver

Manager – Don Revie

Ann Jones also won the Wimbledon mixed doubles (with Fred Stolle). Trophy presented by Princess Alexandra

Tony Jacklin won the Open at Lytham

Team award shared for the first time. Relay team of Pat Lowe, Rosemary Stirling, Janet Simpson and Lillian Board won the European Championships in Athens

Ryder Cup team drew with America, following Nicklaus’s conceded putt at Royal Birkdale

Rod Laver won his second Grand Slam

Don Revie won a special Manager of the Year award, a tiny replica camera trophy

1970

1^st Henry Cooper

2^nd Tony Jacklin

3^rd Bobby Moore

Team – Vincent O’Brien, Lester Piggott and Nijinsky

Overseas – Pele

Cooper became the first person to win the main award twice

Jacklin became the first British player to win the US Open

Nijinsky won the Derby, 2000 Guineas, St Leger and the King George. Trophy presented by Lord Wigg. Nijinsky had been retired to stud in America

1971

1^st Princess Anne

2^nd George Best

3^rd Barry John

Team – British Lions

Overseas – Lee Trevino

Princess Anne won both the team and individual golds on Doublet at the European Three-day Event Championship at Burghley. Henry Cooper presented the trophy

The Lions won the series in New Zealand, captained by John Dawes and managed by Dr Doug Smith

Lee Trevino won the 100^th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale

This was the last time that Peter Dimmock announced the overall winner. He had done so for all 18 years, as well as presenting the first ten programmes

1972

1^st Mary Peters

2^nd Gordon Banks

3^rd Richard Meade

Team – Three-day event team

Overseas – Olga Korbut

Mary Peters collected the trophy from Princess Anne, and remarked ‘hasn’t she kept it nice!’

Richard Meade won the individual gold medal on Laurieston

The gold medal winning team was Richard Meade, Mark Phillips, Mary Gordon-Watson and Bridget Parker. Trophy presented by Roger Bannister

Olga Korbut was aged 17, and won gold on the beam and the floor, as well as with the USSR team. Korbut was the first woman to win the Overseas award outright

Harry Carpenter interviewed Ali, who was in an NBC studio in New York. Ali said Harry was ‘not as dumb as he looked’

1973

1^st Jackie Stewart

2^nd Roger Taylor

3^rd Paddy McMahon

Team – Sunderland

Overseas – Muhammad Ali

Jackie Stewart won his third world championship, and retired at the end of the year

Roger Taylor reached the Wimbledon semi-finals, in the year of the boycott

Paddy McMahon won at the European Championships at Hickstead

Muhammad Ali wins the first of his three awards, presented by James J Braddock

1974

1^st Brendan Foster

2^nd John Conteh

3^rd Willie John McBride

Team – British Lions

Overseas – Muhammad Ali

Foster won the 5000m at the European Championships, and was second in the 5000m at the Commonwealth Games in New Zealand

Conteh became the first British light-heavyweight champion for 25 years, beating the Argentinian Jorge Ahumada

McBride captained the Lions to a 3-0 series win in South Africa

Don Revie presented the Lions with the Team award

Ali beat Frasier, and then beat Foreman in the ‘rumble in the jungle’

Roger Mills received his medal for the 20km walk at the European Championships during Sports Review, as the bronze medalist was later disqualified

1975

1^st David Steele

2^nd Alan Pascoe

3^rd David Wilkie

Team – Men’s swimming team

Overseas – Arthur Ashe

Steele scored 365 runs in 6 innings in the Ashes series, including a top score of 92

Pascoe won 22 of his 23 races in 1975

Wilkie won two world swimming golds and Brian Brinkley won six ASA titles. Britain were the second strongest team in the world, behind USA. The award was presented by Chris Bonnington

Ashe was the first black male to win Wimbledon, beating Connors in the final

1976

1^st John Curry

2^nd James Hunt

3^rd David Wilkie

Team – British modern pentathlon team

Overseas – Nadia Comaneci

Jimmy Hill joined Frank Bough and Harry Carpenter for the first time

John Curry became the first British figure skater to win Olympic gold

James Hunt won his first and only world title

David Wilkie won gold in the 200m breaststroke, and silver in the 100m breaststroke

Modern pentathlon team of Adrian Parker, Jeremy Fox and Robert Nightingale won gold, and the Soviet team was disqualified after Boris Onischenko’s epee was found to be recording illegal hits

Nadia Comaneci won three golds, one silver and a bronze

1977

1^st Virginia Wade

2^nd Geoff Boycott

3^rd Barry Sheene

Team – Liverpool

Overseas – Niki Lauda

The programme moved to the New London Theatre in Drury Lane. Martin Hopkins began a long run as programme producer

Wade had also won the 1968 US and Australian Open titles. Trophy presented by Prince Michael of Kent

Boycott returned after three years of self-imposed exile, and scored his hundredth first class century in the Headingley Ashes Test

Barry Sheene was 500cc world champion for the second successive year

Liverpool beat Borussia Monchengladbach in the European Cup final. Only football team to have won the Team award three times

Niki Lauda won the world championship, a year after his near-fatal accident, for Ferrari

Red Rum was in the studio and pricked up its ears when it heard Tommy Stack’s voice

1978

1^st Steve Ovett

2^nd Daley Thompson

3^rd Ian Botham

Team – British men’s and women’s tennis

Overseas – Muhammad Ali

Programme held at BBC Television Centre for the first time

Ovett won the European 1500m title. He was presented with the award by Prince Charles, but Ovett’s speech was never heard as the programme ran out of time

Thompson had won gold in the Commonwealth Games in Edmonton

Botham made 108 and took 8-34 against Pakistan at Lords

Paul Hutchins captained the men’s team to a semi-final win over Australia in the Davis Cup, and captained the women’s team to a Wightman Cup victory over the USA

Muhammad Ali won the Overseas award for a third time, after regaining the title from Leon Spinks

1979

1^st Sebastian Coe

2^nd Ian Botham

3^rd Kevin Keegan

Team – British show jumping

Overseas – Bjorn Borg

Coe broke the world records for the 800m, the mile and the 1500m

Botham completed the fastest double (1000 runs and 100 wickets) in Test cricket, reaching it in just 21 matches

Keegan was European Player of the Year, playing for SV Hamburg

The show jumping team of Caroline Bradley, Malcolm Pyrah, Derek Ricketts and David Broome won the European Championships

Borg won Wimbledon for the fourth consecutive year, beating Roscoe Tanner in the final

1980

1^st Robin Cousins

2^nd Sebastian Coe

3^rd Daley Thompson

Team – England rugby union

Overseas – Jack Nicklaus

Cousins won the Olympic figure skating title in Lake Placid

Coe won the Olympic 1500m and took silver in the 800m

Thompson won gold in the decathlon

England won the Grand Slam for the first time in 23 years. This was a rare team win by non-Olympic team in an Olympic year

Nicklaus won the US Open and PGA, and received the trophy from Sam Sneed

1981

1^st Ian Botham

2^nd Steve Davis

3^rd Sebastian Coe

Team – Bob Champion and Aldaniti

Overseas – Chris Evert Lloyd

Special award – Dennis Moore

Botham scored 149 at Headingley and 118 at Old Trafford. Trophy presented by Douglas Bader

Davis won his first World Championship, beating Doug Mountjoy

Coe twice lowered the record time for the mile

Aldaniti was trained by Josh Gifford

Evert won her third, and last, Wimbledon singles title, beating Hana Mandlikova

Dennis Moore, who had been blind since birth, ran the London marathon. In recognition of this achievement, and to mark the Year of the Disabled, Jimmy Saville prersented him with a special Award

1982

1^st Daley Thompson

2^nd Alex Higgins

3^rd Steve Cram

Team – Torvill and Dean

Overseas – Jimmy Connors

Thompson won gold at the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, and the European Championships in Athens. Trophy presented by Gary Sobers

Higgins won his second world title, beating Ray Reardon

Cram won the 1500m at Brisbane and Athens

Torvill and Dean won the World Championships with their ‘Mack and Mabel’ routine

Connors beat McEnroe to win his second Wimbledon, and also won the US Open  

1983

1^st Steve Cram

2^nd Torvill and Dean

3^rd Daley Thompson

Team – Torvill and Dean

Overseas – Carl Lewis

International Team – Alan Bond and the crew of Australia II

Des Lynam took over as main presenter, a job he kept for 16 years

Cram won the 1500m in the first ever World Championships, held in Helsinki

Torvill and Dean won the World Championship with their ‘Barnum’ routine

Thompson won gold in the decathlon at the World Championships

Carl Lewis won the 100m and long jump at the World Championships

Torvill and Dean became the first winners of the Team award in successive years

Alan Bond won the Americas Cup, after the USA had held it for 132 years, and won the Special award for International Team

For the first time there were silver plates for the second and third placed personalities

Richard Noble was in the studio with Thrust II, which had reached 633 mph

Frank Bruno appeared on the programme for the first time

1984

1^st Torvill and Dean

2^nd Sebastian Coe

3^rd Steve Davis

Team – British hockey squad

Overseas – Seve Ballesteros

Special award – Lester Piggott

Torvill and Dean won Olympic gold in Sarajevo with their ‘Bolero’ routine. Elton John presented the award

Coe won Olympic gold in the 1500m

Davis won his third world title, beating Jimmy White in the final

The British hockey team won Olympic bronze

Ballesteros won The Open at St Andrews. Tony Jacklin presented the award

Lester Piggott won a Special award, having ridden to a record 28^th classic success on Commanche Run in the St Leger

1985

1^st Barry McGuigan

2^nd Ian Botham

3^rd Steve Cram

Team – Ryder Cup

Oversea – Boris Becker

McGuigan won the WBA featherweight title against Eusebio Pedroza at Loftus Road

Botham was in the England team that retained the Ashes under David Gower

Cram broke 1500m, mile and 2000m world records in the space of 19 days

Europe’s golfers won the Ryder Cup for the first time since 1957. Sam Torrance made the winning putt. Henry Cotton presented the trophy

Becker won Wimbledon at the age of 17, beating Kevin Curren in the final

1986

1^st Nigel Mansell

2^nd Fatima Whitbread

3^rd Kenny Dalglish

Team – Liverpool

Overseas – Greg Norman

Special Team – British men’s 4x400m relay squad

Steve Rider presented the programme with Des Lynam for the first time

Mansell lost the world title when his left rear tyre exploded in Adelaide, driving for Williams

Whitbread won the European Championships with a world record throw of over 77m

Dalglish played in the double-winning team

Greg Norman won his first Open, at Turnberry

The relay squad (Derek Redmond, Kriss Akabusi, Brian Whittle, Roger Black, Todd Bennett, and Phil Brown) won gold at the European Championships. Brian Whittle ran the last leg in just one shoe

Ballyregan Bob became the first dog to appear in the studio

1987

1^st Fatima Whitbread

2^nd Steve Davis

3^rd Ian Woosnam

Team – European Ryder Cup

Overseas – Martina Navratilova

Whitbread won Britain’s only gold medal at the World Championships in Rome

Steve Davis won his fourth world title

Ian Woosnam had the richest season ever in golf, winning eight tournaments and $1.8 million

Ryder Cup team won on American soil for the first time in 60 years, at Muirfield. Tony Jacklin was captain, and Eamonn Darcy holed the winning putt

Navratilova won her eight Wimbledon, and was presented with the award by Chris Evert

Money was raised for Jonjo O’Neill’s cancer charity in a golf simulator in the studio

1988

1^st Steve Davis

2^nd Adrian Moorhouse

3^rd Sandy Lyle

Team – British hockey squad

Overseas – Steffi Graf

Davis beat Griffiths to win his fifth world title

Moorhouse emulated Duncan Goodhew eight years earlier by winning the 100m breaststroke at the Olympics

Lyle became the first British winner of the Masters

GB beat Germany to win Britain’s first ever hockey gold. Captained by Richard Dodds. Commentator Barry Davis said "Where were the Germans? And frankly who cares?"

Graf won the Grand Slam and the Olympic title. Award presented by Fred Perry

Malcolm Cooper and Alistair Allan, who had won gold and silver in the small bore rifle, were persuaded to take part in a studio-based duck-shooting competition

1989

1^st Nick Faldo

2^nd Frank Bruno

3^rd Steve Davis

Team – British men’s athletics

Overseas – Mike Tyson

The programme moved to the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in Westminster

Faldo won the Masters

Bruno fought Tyson in Las Vegas, but lost in the fifth round

Davis finished in the top three for the fifth time

Britain won the Europa Cup at Gateshead, and came third in the World Cup final in Barcelona. The award was presented by Gordon Pirie

Tyson was the undisputed heavyweight champion

Gary Lineker and Frank Bruno won a special game of table football in the studio stunt

The first telephone poll to identify the sporting moment of the decade finished in a tie between Liverpool (1986 double) and Daley Thompson (1983 World Championships)

1990

1^st Paul Gascoigne

2^nd Stephen Hendry

3^rd Graham Gooch

Team – Scotland rugby union

Overseas – Mel Meninga

Good Sport – Derek Warwick, Martin Donnelly, Louise Aitken-Walker and co-driver Tina Thorner

New editor John Phillips decided to look back at the sporting year in monthly film packages, rather than the traditional sport by sport basis

Hendry won his first world title, aged 21, beating Jimmy White

Gooch scored 333 and 123 against India at Lords

Scotland beat England in the Grand Slam, decider. Winning try scored by Tony Stanger. Trophy presented by Bill McLaren

Mel Meninga captained Australia to a Test series win over England

The racing drivers who won the special Good Sport of the Year award were all involved in bad crashes

1991

1^st Liz McColgan

2^nd Will Carling

3^rd Gary Lineker

Team winner 1 – British men’s 4x400m relay

Team winner 2 – England rugby union

Overseas – Mike Powell

New editor Brian Barwick returned to the traditional formula

McColgan won the 10000m at the World Championships in Tokyo

Carling led England to a Grand Slam and a World Cup final, where they lost to Australia.

Relay squad of Redmond, Black, Regis and Akabusi won gold at the World Championships

Team award presented by David Campese

Powell broke Beamon’s world record, with a jump of 8.95m at the World Championships. Trophy presented by Lynn Davies

Bob Nudd received the most votes following a campaign in the Angling Times. However the BBC deemed this to be against the rules and ‘discarded all the ballots cast on forms printed in the Angling Times’

1992

1^st Nigel Mansell

2^nd Linford Christie

3^rd Sally Gunnell

Team – British rowing

Overseas – Andre Agassi

Mansell won the world title, driving for Williams

Christie won the 100m gold at the Barcelona Olympics

Gunnell won the 400m hurdles gold

In a studio stunt, Redgrave beat Pinsent and the Searle brothers in a rowing contest

Agassi beat Ivanisevic in the Wimbledon final

1993

1^st Linford Christie

2^nd Sally Gunnell

3^rd Nigel Mansell

Team – England rugby union

Overseas – Greg Norman

Christie and Gunnell both won gold in the World Championships held in Stuttgart

Nigel Mansell won the Indycar Championship, racing for Paul Newman

England beat the All Blacks

Greg Norman won the Open at Royal St Georges

Des Lynam appeared in the Grand National starter’s outfit of black bowler, brown raincoat and red flag. Keith Brown was the starter of the National that never was

1994

1^st Damon Hill

2^nd Sally Gunnell

3^rd Colin Jackson

Team – Wigan

Overseas – Brian Lara

Special award – Lester Piggott

Sue Barker presented the programme for the first time

Damon Hill finished second in the world championship to Michael Schumacher. Trophy presented by Chris Chataway

Gunnell and Jackson won gold at the European Championships in Helsinki

Wigan won the Treble and the World Club Challenge

Lara scored 375 against England in Antigua and 501 for Warwicks against Durham. Trophy presented by Gary Sobers

Piggott won his second Special award, aged 60. Presented by Peter O’Sullevan

1995

1^st Jonathan Edwards

2^nd Frank Bruno

3^rd Colin McRae

Team – Ryder Cup

Overseas – Jonah Lomu

Edwards won gold and broke the world record at the World Championships in Gothenburg

Bruno beat Oliver McCall at Wembley to win the WBC heavyweight title

Colin McRae became the first Briton and the youngest to win the World Rally Championship Drivers' title, aged 27, driving a Subaru

Ryder Cup team, captained by Bernard Gallagher, won at Oak Hill

Lomu scored four tries against England in the World Cup semi-final. First rugby player and first New Zealander to win the award

An unsuccessful attempt to break the world standing long jump record was made in the studio

1996

1^st Damon Hill

2^nd Steve Redgrave

3^rd Frankie Dettori

Team – Redgrave and Pinsent

Overseas 1 – Evander Holyfield

Overseas 2 – Michael Johnson

Lifetime Achievement – Frank Bruno

Damon Hill won the world title, and won the award for the second time. Only Cooper and Mansell have also been double winners

Redgrave and Pinsent won the coxless pairs at the Atlanta Olympics, giving Redgrave his fourth gold medal. Ann Redgrave presented the team award

Frankie Dettori rode seven winners in a day at Ascot

Holyfield held versions of the world heavyweight title on four separate occasions. In 1996 he defeated Mike Tyson. Frank Bruno presented the award

Michael Johnson became the first man to complete the 200m and 400m double at the same games, and set a 200m world record of 19.32 seconds

Bruno retired after losing to Tyson in Las Vegas

After 20 years at the helm, this was the final show for producer Martin Hopkins

1997

1^st Greg Rusedski

2^nd Tim Henman

3^rd Steve Redgrave

Team – British Lions

Overseas – Martina Hingis

Lifetime Achievement – Seve Ballesteros

Rusedski became the first British player to reach the US Open final for 61 years. He was beaten by Pat Rafter

Henman won his first title, in Sydney. Henman and Rusedski both reached the quarter-finals

Lions won in South Africa thanks to Guscott’s drop goal in Durban. Willie John McBride presented the award

Hingis beat Novotna at Wimbledon to become the youngest winner of the century, aged 16

Ballesteros captained the Ryder Cup team in Valderrama. Colin Montgomerie presented the award

Andy Green’s land speed record-breaking Thrust SS6 (714 mph in the Black Rock Desert, Nevada) was parked outside the conference centre

1998

1^st Michael Owen

2^nd Denise Lewis

3^rd Iwan Thomas

Team – Arsenal

Overseas – Mark O’Meara

Editor Dave Gordon instigated the first ever telephone poll. Calls cost 10p

This was the final show presented by Des Lynam

Michael Owen scored against Argentina in the World Cup, and at 19, was the second youngest winner of the trophy

Denise Lewis won gold at the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur and the European Championships in Budapest

Iwan Thomas won gold in the 400m at the Commonwealth Games and the European Championships

Arsenal won the double

Mark O’Meara won the Masters and the Open at Royal Birkdale, aged 41

1999

1^st Lennox Lewis

2^nd David Beckham

3^rd Colin Jackson

Team – Man Utd

Overseas – Maurice Greene

Coach – Alex Ferguson

Helen Rollason award, awarded to someone who has shown ‘outstanding achievement in the face of adversity’ – Jenny Pitman

Newcomer – Dean Macey

Sports Personality of the Century – Muhammad Ali

The programme moved to the BBC Television Centre, and set out to review a century of sporting achievement. Clare Balding and John Inverdale joined the team of presenters. The name of the show changed from ‘Sports Review of the Year’ to ‘Sports Personality of the Year’. Philip Bernie took over as editor

Lewis defeated Holyfield to become undisputed champion

Jackson won gold in the 110m hurdles at the World Championships in Seville

Greene broke the 100m world record and won all three sprint golds at the World Championships

Ferguson was presented with the trophy by Seve Ballesteros

Jenny Pitman had overcome cancer and was presented with the award by Helen Rollason’s daughter, Nicky

Macey won silver in the decathlon at the World Championships

Muhammad Ali was interviewed by Harry Carpenter. Holyfield presented the trophy

2000

1^st Steve Redgrave

2^nd Denise Lewis

3^rd Tanni Grey-Thompson

Team – British Olympic and Paralympic teams

Overseas – Tiger Woods

Coach – Jurgen Grobler

Helen Rollason award – Tanni Grey-Thompson

Newcomer – Jenson Button

Redgrave won his fifth Olympic gold. Third individual and third team award

Denise Lewis won Olympic gold in the heptathlon

Tanni Grey-Thompson won four golds at the Paralympics

Britain won 28 medals at the Olympics, including 11 gold, and 131 medals at the Paralympics

Tiger Woods won the Open at St Andrews, the US Open and the PGA

Jurgen Grobler coached the coxless four

Jenson Button made his F1 debut for Williams

2001

1^st David Beckham

2^nd Ellen MacArthur

3^rd Michael Owen

Team – Liverpool

Overseas – Goran Ivanisevic

Coach – Sven Goran Eriksson

Helen Rollason award – Ellen MacArthur

Young Sports Personality (replaced the Newcomer award) – Amy Spencer

Lifetime Achievement (established as a permanent category) – Alex Ferguson

Beckham scored with a free kick against Greece to ensure qualification for World Cup

Ellen MacArthur sailed round the world in Kingfisher

Michael Owen scored a hat-trick in 5-1 win over Germany

Liverpool won five trophies, managed by Gerard Houllier

Goran Ivanisevic won Wimbledon, beating Pat Rafter in the final. Trophy presented by Boris Becker

Eriksson was presented with the award by Bobby Charlton

Amy Spencer was a 16-year-old sprinter

2002

1^st Paula Radcliffe

2^nd David Beckham

3^rd Tony McCoy

Team – Ryder Cup

Overseas – Ronaldo

Coach – Arsene Wenger

Helen Rollason award – Jane Tomlinson

Young Sports Personality – Wayne Rooney

Lifetime Achievement – George Best

For the first time the voting figures were announced. Paula Radcliffe received over 600,000 votes

Paula Radcliffe broke her own world record in the London marathon

Tony McCoy passed Richard Dunwoody’s record of National Hunt winners

Europe, captained by Sam Torrance, won the Ryder Cup at The Belfry. Moved from 2001 following 9/11 attacks

Arsene Wenger managed Arsenal to their second double in five years

Jane Tomlinson ran the London marathon and a triathlon

Wayne Rooney, aged 17, received the trophy from Eriksson, who had already capped him

George Best received the trophy from Bobby Charlton

2003

1^st Jonny Wilkinson

2^nd Martin Johnson

3^rd Paula Radcliffe

Team – England rugby union

Overseas – Lance Armstrong

Coach – Clive Woodward

Helen Rollason award – Michael Watson

Young Sports Personality – Kate Haywood

Lifetime Achievement – Martina Navratilova

Unsung Hero – Nobby Woodcock

Golden Sports Personality – Steve Redgrave

Team of the Decades – England 1966 football team. Also known as the Golden Team award

Wilkinson was the first rugby union player to win the award, presented by the Princess Royal

England won the rugby union World Cup

Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France for the fifth year in succession

Michael Watson completed the London marathon despite having been told he may never walk again, as a result of near-fatal injury sustained in a WBO super-middleweight title fight defeat by Chris Eubank in 1991

Kate Haywood was the youngest ever swimmer to represent England at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, aged 15

The inaugural winner of the Unsung Hero award was 63-year-old Nobby Woodcock, for ‘his unstinting work with grassroots football in Wales’

To celebrate the golden anniversary of the show, a special award was voted for by the public to recognise an all-time Golden Sports Personality from the previous winners of the last 49 years. The show was preceded every evening of the preceding week by a programme called ‘Simply The Best’, in which the merits are considered of each decade's past winners

2004

1^st Kelly Holmes

2^nd Matthew Pinsent

3^rd Andrew Flintoff

Team – Olympic men’s coxless four

Overseas – Roger Federer

Coach – Arsene Wenger

Helen Rollason award – Kirsty Howard

Young Sports Personality – Andy Murray

Lifetime Achievement – Ian Botham

Unsung Hero – Abdullah Ben-Kmayal

Holmes was the first black woman to win

Pinsent won his fourth Olympic gold

Rowing four – Matthew Pinsent, James Cracknell, Ed Coode and Steve Williams

Kirsty Howard won the award for raising money for poorly children in Francis House hospice through Kirsty's Appeal, despite having an inoperable heart condition

Federer won three Grand Slam events. Trophy presented by Tim Henman

Arsenal were unbeaten in the Premier League

Murray won the US Open boy’s singles title. Trophy presented by Boris Becker

Botham was presented with the trophy by Viv Richards

2005

1^st Andrew Flintoff

2^nd Ellen MacArthur

3^rd Steven Gerrard

Team – England cricket

Overseas – Shane Warne

Coach – Jose Mourinho

Helen Rollason award – Geoff Thomas

Young Sports Personality – Harry Aikines-Aryeetey

Lifetime Achievement – Pele

Unsung Hero – Trevor Collins

Special Gold Award – Sebastian Coe

England regained the Ashes for the first time in 18 years. Botham presented the award in Lahore

Ellen MacArthur broke the solo record for sailing non-stop around the world in 2004 and was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2005

Vaughan accepted the Team award

Warne took 40 wickets in the Ashes series

Mourinho managed Chelsea to their first title in 50 years

Geoff Thomas won for raising ‘more than £150,000 for the Leukaemia Research charity’ by cycling

Harry Aikines-Aryeetey won for becoming the "first sprinter in the six-year history of the IAAF World Youth Championships to win gold in both the 100m and 200m’

Sebastian Coe received a Special Gold Award for chairing London's winning bid for the 2012 Olympics

2006

1^st Zara Phillips

2^nd Darren Clarke

3^rd Beth Tweddle

Team – St Helens

Overseas – Roger Federer

Coach – Daniel Anderson

Helen Rollason award – Paul Hunter

Young Sports Personality – Theo Walcott

Lifetime Achievement – Bjorn Borg

Unsung Hero – Val Hanover

Special Award – David Walliams

Held at the NEC – the first time the event had been held outside London. For the first time, tickets for the event were made available to the public, and 3,000 were sold in the first hour. Adrian Chiles joined the show and co-presented alongside Barker and Lineker for two years

Zara Phillips won the individual gold on Toytown in the three-day eventing competition at the World Equestrian Games in Aachen

Darren Clarke lost his wife to cancer six weeks before he honoured a commitment he made to her by playing in the Ryder Cup

Beth Tweddle became Britain's first ever gymnastics World Champion by winning the uneven bars event in the World Championships in Aarhus, Denmark

Lindsey Hunter accepted the Helen Rollason Award on behalf of her husband, Paul, the snooker player who died of cancer two months earlier aged 27

Team award decided by public vote. St Helens won the Challenge Cup and the Super League

Daniel Anderson was the first rugby league coach to win the award

David Walliams swam the English Channel for charity, and raised over £1 million for Sport Relief

2007

1^st Joe Calzaghe

2^nd Lewis Hamilton

3^rd Ricky Hatton

Team – England rugby union

Overseas – Roger Federer

Coach – Erno Calzaghe

Helen Rollason award – Oscar Pistorius

Young Sports Personality – Tom Daley

Lifetime Achievement – Bobby Robson

Unsung Hero – Margaret Simons

Held at the NEC

The Welsh super-middleweight boxer was crowned undisputed world champion in November when he defeated Mikkel Kessler in Cardiff. Lewis presented Calzaghe with his award

Hamilton finished runner-up to Raikkonen in his debut F1 season

Hatton finished in third place having surrendered his unbeaten record to Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas overnight

England rugby team reached the World Cup final, beaten by South Africa

Roger Federer became only the second person after Muhammad Ali to win the Overseas Personality of the Year three times

Erno Calzaghe won the award for training Joe Calzaghe to 44 undefeated fights and 10 years as world champion

Tom Daley was aged 13

2008

1^st Chris Hoy

2^nd Lewis Hamilton

3^rd Rebecca Adlington

Team – Olympic cycling

Overseas – Usain Bolt

Coach – David Brailsford

Helen Rollason award – Alistair Hignall

Young Sports Personality – Eleanor Simmons

Lifetime Achievement – Bobby Charlton

Unsung Hero – Ben Geyser

In February 2008, the BBC announced that the 2008 Sports Personality of the Year event would be held at the Echo Arena, Liverpool. One reason for the move to Liverpool was to allow greater numbers to view the show live, as the 10,600-seater venue in Liverpool had a bigger capacity than the NEC. Jake Humphrey replaced Chiles as co-presenter

David Brailsford was named Coach of the Year for steering his team to eight gold medals

Jack Charlton presented Bobby with his award

2009

1^st Ryan Giggs

2^nd Jenson Button

3^rd Jessica Ennis

Team – England men’s cricket

Overseas – Usain Bolt

Coach – Fabio Capello

Helen Rollason award – Phil Packer

Young Sports Personality – Tom Daley

Lifetime Achievement – Seve Ballesteros

Unsung Hero – Doreen Adcock

Special Award – Eddie Izzard

It was announced in April 2009 that the show would be staged at the 11,000-seater Sheffield Arena

Major Phil Packer won the award for fundraising over £1.2 million for the Help for Heroes charity, despite being paraplegic since sustaining injuries in the Iraq War

Olazabel presented Ballesteros with his award

Eddie Izzard ran 43 marathons in 51 days for Sport Relief

2010

1^st Tony McCoy

2^nd Phil Taylor

3^rd Jessica Ennis

Team – European Ryder Cup

Overseas Personality – Rafael Nadal

Coach – Colin Montgomery

Helen Rollason award – Frank Williams

Young Sports Personality – Tom Daley

Lifetime Achievement – David Beckham

Unsung Hero – Lance Haggith

Held at the LG Arena, Birmingham

McCoy is the first jockey to win the award

Daley wins Young Sports Personality for the third time

2011

1^st Mark Cavendish

2^nd Darren Clarke

3^rd Mo Farah

Team – England cricket

Overseas Personality – Novak Djokovic

Coach – Andy Flower

Helen Rollason award – Bob Champion

Young Sports Personality – Lauren Taylor, the youngest-ever winner of the British Ladies amateur Golf Championship

Lifetime Achievement award – Steve Redgrave

Unsung Heroes – Janice Eaglesham and Ian Mirfin

Held at MediaCityUK

The shortlist was widely criticised for its lack of any female competitors

2012

1^st Bradley Wiggins

2^nd Jessica Ennis

3^rd Andy Murray

Team – Team GB and Paralympics GB

Overseas Personality – Usain Bolt

Coach – Dave Brailsford

Helen Rollason award – Martine Wright

Young Sports Personality – Josef Craig

Lifetime Achievement award – Seb Coe

Unsung Heroes – Sue and Jim Houghton

Held at ExCeL

2013

1^st Andy Murray

2^nd Leigh Halfpenny

3^rd Tony McCoy

Overseas Personality – Sebastian Vettel

Coach – Warren Gatland

Team – British and Irish Lions

Young Sports Personality – Amber Hill (15-year-old skeet shooter)

Diamond Award – Alex Ferguson (special award)

Helen Rollason award – Anne Williams (Hillsborough justice campaigner)

Unsung Heroes – Joe and Maggie Forber (basketball coaches)

Held at First Direct Arena, Leeds

Sue Barker steps down as a presenter

2014

1^st Lewis Hamilton

2^nd Rory McIlroy

3^rd Jo Pavey

Overseas Personality – Cristiano Ronaldo

Coach – Paul McGinley

Team – England women’s Rugby World Cup

Young Sports Personality – Claudia Fragapane

Lifetime Achievement Award – Chris Hoy

Helen Rollason award – Competitors at the Invictus Games. Award presented by Prince Harry

Unsung Hero – Jill Stidever

Held at SSE Hydro, Glasgow

The ceremony was held in Scotland for the first time in its history

2015

1^st Andy Murray

2^nd Kevin Sinfield

3^rd Jessica Ennis-Hill

Overseas Personality – Dan Carter

Coach – Michael O’Neill

Team – GB Davis Cup

Young Personality – Ellie Downie

Lifetime Achievement Award – Tony McCoy

Helen Rollason award – Bailey Matthews, aged 8

Unsung hero – Damien Lindsay

Held at Odyssey Arena, Belfast

The ceremony was held in Northern Ireland for the first time in its history

Gary Lineker cut his hand on the trophy for the main award

2016

1^st Andy Murray

2^nd Alistair Brownlee

3^rd Nick Skelton

Overseas Personality – Simon Biles

Coach – Claudio Ranieri

Team – Leicester City

Young Personality – Ellie Robinson

Lifetime Achievement Award – Michael Phelps

Helen Rollason award – Ben Smith

Unsung hero – Marcellus Baz

The ceremony was held at the Genting Arena, Birmingham

Andy Murray is the only person to have won three times

2017

1^st Mo Farah

2^nd Jonathan Rea

3^rd Jonnie Peacock

Overseas Personality – Roger Federer

Coaches – Benke Blomkvist, Stephen Maguire and Christian Malcolm (GB men’s 4x100m relay)

Team – England Women’s Cricket

Young Personality – Phil Foden

Lifetime Achievement Award – Jessica Ennis-Hill

Helen Rollason award – Bradley Lowery

Unsung hero – Denise Larrad

The ceremony was held at the Echo Arena, Liverpool

2018

1^st Geraint Thomas

2^nd Lewis Hamilton

3^rd Harry Kane

World Sports Star – Francesco Molinari. New award, replacing Overseas Personality

Coach – Gareth Southgate

Team – England netball

Greatest Moment of the Year – England netball's Commonwealth gold. New award

Young Personality – Kare Adenegan

Lifetime Achievement Award – Billie-Jean King

Helen Rollason award – Billy Monger

Billy Monger won the award for returning to motor racing after a double leg amputation following a crash

Unsung hero – Kirsty Ewan

The ceremony was held at the Genting Arena, Birmingham

2019

1^st Ben Stokes

2^nd Lewis Hamilton

3^rd Dina Asher-Smith

World Sports Star – Eliud Kipchoge

Coach – John Blackie

Team – England’s Cricket World Cup team

Greatest Moment of the Year – Jos Buttler breaks the stumps to seal Cricket World Cup victory

Young Personality – Caroline Dubois

Lifetime Achievement Award – Tanni Grey-Thompson

Helen Rollason award – Doddie Weir

Unsung hero – Keiren Thompson

The ceremony was held at P&J Live, Aberdeen

2020

1^st Lewis Hamilton

2^nd Jordan Henderson

3^rd Hollie Doyle

World Sports Star – Khabib Nurmagomedov

Helen Rollason Award – Captain Sir Tom Moore

Expert Special Panel Award – Marcus Rashford

Coach of the Year – Jurgen Klopp

Team of the Year – Liverpool FC

Unsung Hero – Sgt Matt Ratana

Captain Tom Young Unsung Hero – Tobias Weller

Young Personality – Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix

Captain Tom Moore raised over £30 million for NHS Charities Together by completing one hundred lengths of his garden with the help of a walking frame

Tyson Fury was nominated for the main award but posted a video on social media saying “Please take me off your list as I'm the people's champion and have no need for verifications or any awards”. The BBC ignored his request

Marcus Rashford was honoured for his work to raise awareness of child food poverty in the UK

Lewis Hamilton holds the record for the highest number of top three placements with six

The awards took place at Media City, Salford, with no audience due to COVID-19. Alex Scott joined the team of presenters

2021

1^st Emma Raducanu

2^nd Tom Daley

3^rd Adam Peaty

World Sports Star – Rachael Blackmore

Coach of the Year – Gareth Southgate

Team of the Year – England national football team

Young Personality – Sky Brown

Lifetime Achievement Award – Simone Biles

Helen Rollason Award – Jen Beattie

Unsung hero – Sam Barlow

The awards took place at Media City, Salford, with no audience due to COVID-19

2022

1^st Beth Mead

2^nd Ben Stokes

3^rd Eve Muirhead

World Sports Star – Lionel Messi

Coach of the Year – Serena Wiegman

Team of the Year – England national women’s football team

Young Personality – Jessica Gadirova

Lifetime Achievement Award – Usain Bolt

Helen Rollason Award – Rob Burrow

Special Award – Kevin Sinfield

Unsung hero – Mike Alden

Kevin Sinfield has run a number of marathons for ex-Leeds teammate Rob Burrow, who has Motor Neurone Disease (MND)

The awards took place at Media City, Salford