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
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
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 (50th anniversary award)
2003 Steve Redgrave Shortlist – Redgrave, Botham, Beckham, Moore, Torvill and Dean
Team of the Decades (50th 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 MediaCityUK
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 – 2021 Salford, with no audience
Awards by year
1954
1st Chris Chataway
2nd Roger Bannister
3rd 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
1st 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
1st 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
1st 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
1st Ian Black
2nd Bobby Charlton
3rd 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
1st John Surtees
2nd Bobby Charlton
3rd 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
1st David Broome
2nd Don Thompson
3rd 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
1st Stirling Moss
2nd Billy Walker
3rd 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
1st Anita Lonsbrough
2nd Dorothy Hyman
3rd 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
1st Dorothy Hyman
2nd Bobby McGregor
3rd 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
1st Mary Rand
2nd Barry Briggs
3rd 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
1st Tommy Simpson
2nd Jim Clark
3rd 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
1st Bobby Moore
2nd Barry Briggs
3rd 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
1st Henry Cooper
2nd Beryl Burton
3rd 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
1st David Hemery
2nd Graham Hill
3rd 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
1st Ann Jones
2nd Tony Jacklin
3rd 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
1st Henry Cooper
2nd Tony Jacklin
3rd 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
1st Princess Anne
2nd George Best
3rd 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 100th 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
1st Mary Peters
2nd Gordon Banks
3rd 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
1st Jackie Stewart
2nd Roger Taylor
3rd 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
1st Brendan Foster
2nd John Conteh
3rd 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
1st David Steele
2nd Alan Pascoe
3rd 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
1st John Curry
2nd James Hunt
3rd 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
1st Virginia Wade
2nd Geoff Boycott
3rd 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
1st Steve Ovett
2nd Daley Thompson
3rd 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
1st Sebastian Coe
2nd Ian Botham
3rd 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
1st Robin Cousins
2nd Sebastian Coe
3rd 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
1st Ian Botham
2nd Steve Davis
3rd 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
1st Daley Thompson
2nd Alex Higgins
3rd 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
1st Steve Cram
2nd Torvill and Dean
3rd 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
1st Torvill and Dean
2nd Sebastian Coe
3rd 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 28th classic success on Commanche Run in the St Leger
1985
1st Barry McGuigan
2nd Ian Botham
3rd 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
1st Nigel Mansell
2nd Fatima Whitbread
3rd 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
1st Fatima Whitbread
2nd Steve Davis
3rd 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
1st Steve Davis
2nd Adrian Moorhouse
3rd 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 Master
The hockey beat Germany to win Britain’s first ever hockey gold. Captained by Richard Dodds. Barry Davis – ‘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
1st Nick Faldo
2nd Frank Bruno
3rd 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
1st Paul Gascoigne
2nd Stephen Hendry
3rd 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
1st Liz McColgan
2nd Will Carling
3rd 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
1st Nigel Mansell
2nd Linford Christie
3rd 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
1st Linford Christie
2nd Sally Gunnell
3rd 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
1st Damon Hill
2nd Sally Gunnell
3rd 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
1st Jonathan Edwards
2nd Frank Bruno
3rd 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
1st Damon Hill
2nd Steve Redgrave
3rd 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
1st Greg Rusedski
2nd Tim Henman
3rd 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
1st Michael Owen
2nd Denise Lewis
3rd 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
1st Lennox Lewis
2nd David Beckham
3rd 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
1st Steve Redgrave
2nd Denise Lewis
3rd 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
1st David Beckham
2nd Ellen MacArthur
3rd 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 Own 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
1st Paula Radcliffe
2nd David Beckham
3rd 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 600000 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
1st Jonny Wilkinson
2nd Martin Johnson
3rd 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
1st Kelly Holmes
2nd Matthew Pinsent
3rd 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 Premire 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
1st Andrew Flintoff
2nd Ellen MacArthur
3rd 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
1st Zara Phillips
2nd Darren Clarke
3rd 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
1st Joe Calzaghe
2nd Lewis Hamilton
3rd 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
1st Chris Hoy
2nd Lewis Hamilton
3rd 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
1st Ryan Giggs
2nd Jenson Button
3rd 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
1st Tony McCoy
2nd Phil Taylor
3rd 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
1st Mark Cavendish
2nd Darren Clarke
3rd 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
1st Bradley Wiggins
2nd Jessica Ennis
3rd 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
1st Andy Murray
2nd Leigh Halfpenny
3rd 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
1st Lewis Hamilton
2nd Rory McIlroy
3rd 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
1st Andy Murray
2nd Kevin Sinfield
3rd 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 SPOTY trophy
2016
1st Andy Murray
2nd Alistair Brownlee
3rd 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
2017
1st Mo Farah
2nd Jonathan Rea
3rd 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
1st Geraint Thomas
2nd Lewis Hamilton
3rd 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
Unsung hero – Kirsty Ewan
The ceremony was held at the Genting Arena, Birmingham
2019
1st Ben Stokes
2nd Lewis Hamilton
3rd 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
1st Lewis Hamilton
2nd Jordan Henderson
3rd 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
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 Rashord was honoured for his work to raise awareness of child food poverty in the UK
The awards took place in Salford, with no audience. Alex Scott joined the team of presenters
2021
1st Emma Raducanu
2nd Tom Daley
3rd 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 in Salford, with no audience
