“THE BBC Sports Personality of the Year Show will undergo a radical change next month – with two public votes on the same night. England footballer Chloe Kelly, Masters golf champion Rory McIlroy and darts prodigy Luke Littler are among the favourites to win the main individual accolade of the glitzy TV ceremony. Sign up”, — write: www.thesun.co.uk
England footballer Chloe Kelly, Masters golf champion Rory McIlroy and darts prodigy Luke Littler are among the favourites to win the main individual accolade of the glitzy TV ceremony.
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Chloe Kelly is among the favourites for the BBC SPOTY award this yearCredit: Getty
Keely Hodgkinson won in 2024 after her Olympic gold medalCredit: PA Members of the public can cast their vote for their favourite British sportsperson of 2025 on the evening of Thursday December 18.
Yet for the first time, the Team of the Year award will also be decided by a live vote, which will open before the show starts and close at some point during the two-hour programme.
The main contenders for that trophy are the England women’s football team – who won the Euros this summer – plus Europe’s Ryder Cup-winning golfers and the Lions rugby stars, who clinched their Test Series 2-1 in Australia.
The last two recipients of this category were Manchester City (in 2023) and Wigan Warriors (in 2024) for their respective Treble-winning campaigns.
This year’s SPOTY will be hosted by Clare Balding, Gabby Logan and Alex Scott and broadcast live from MediaCity, Salford from 7-9pm.
This will be the 72nd year of the Awards.
And the past four Sports Personalities of the Year have all been female – a record.
Keely Hodgkinson, the 800 metres Olympic champion, was the overall winner 11 months ago with Littler second and cricketer Joe Root third.
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Before her were Lionesses Mary Earps (2023) and Beth Mead (2022), with Emma Raducanu collecting the gong in 2021 after winning the US Open.
Former footballer Scott – who won 140 caps for England – will hotfoot it to the event after her stint in Australia on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!
She said: “The moments before the SPOTY winner of the year is announced, you can hear a pin drop in the room.
“Everyone is waiting for that moment to see who is going to be crowned with this prestigious award.
“It’s always such an honour to be on that stage hosting an iconic show like SPOTY, a show that I grew up watching and always dreamed of being part of.
“But it does make it even more special when I see the progress of women’s sport.”
The Lionesses could win the team awardCredit: Getty
Golf fans will get the chance to vote for Luke Donald’s winning European Ryder Cup teamCredit: AP
The British & Irish Lions won their series in AustraliaCredit: The Times
Alex Scott will fly in from her adventures on I’m A Celebrity to host the nightCredit: Splash