BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2020 – live!

Captain Sir Tom Moore lends his voice to the opening montage. There are flashes of some of the great sporting moments of the year – including a flash of Joe Wicks, the personal trainer sensation of lockdown.

There’s also some words from Lewis Hamilton after clinching that F1 title: “It is so important for kids to see this, and don’t listen to anyone who says you can’t achieve something. Dream the impossible. You have got to chase it and never give up.”

Hamilton is the bookies’ favourite: he was untouchable for Mercedes in winning a seventh world title, drawing level with the record set by the legendary Michael Schumacher.

Doyle is second favourite, followed by Henderson, O’Sullivan, Fury and Broad. A Fury win would be somewhat reminiscent of the time Ronnie O’Brien, of Middlesbrough and Juventus, was nearly voted Time’s Man of the Century.

Stuart Broad Passed 500 Test wickets for his career, having caused a stir with his reaction to being dropped for the first Test. Also enjoyed a renaissance with the bat and at 34 stressed he has plenty more in him.

Hollie Doyle Had her first winner at Royal Ascot on 33-1 shot Scarlet Dragon and at Windsor in August became the first woman to ride five winners at one meeting. Won twice on Champions Day.

Tyson Fury Took the WBC heavyweight title off Deontay Wilder in February with a seventh-round knockout, a superb performance against an opponent of the American’s calibre. In line to fight Anthony Joshua next year.

Lewis Hamilton Took his seventh world title, equalling Michael Schumacher’s record, with his fourth in a row. He now has 95 wins, four more than the German’s previous record, and has extended his pole record to 98.

Jordan Henderson Captained Liverpool to their first league title since 1990, by a margin of 18 points, at which point the Reds were English, European and world champions. Helped lead the game’s response to the pandemic.

Ronnie O’Sullivan His sixth world title at the Crucible made him the oldest winner, at 40, since the 45-year-old Ray Reardon won in 1978.

This is a BBC Sports Personality of the Year with a difference. For a start, it’s the first time one of the contenders has asked to be taken off the list, so Tyson Fury has already made it unique.

What else has been different, in general, as we assess the past 12 months? Not very much: just the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic, which has impacted sport in any number of ways at any number of levels. And the racist murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May, which sparked a global wave of action against racial discrimination in the form of the Black Lives Matter campaign. It’s been quite a year.

Christmas may now be cancelled for many of us in the UK, but while the national grid remains operational you can be sure that we’ll continue to watch sport on telly. Despite the pandemic there’s been plenty of memorable sport, too, from Lewis Hamilton’s record-equalling seventh world Formula One title to Liverpool’s first Premier League title in 30 years.

For the next two hours Gabby Logan, Clare Balding, Alex Scott and Gary Lineker will be taking us on a socially-distanced journey through the highs and lows of 2020, and at the end of it, we’ll have a SPOTY for 2020 voted by fans across the land. A breakdown of tonight’s contenders to follow shortly.