Sports Personality of the Year 2020: live updates as the BBC prepares to announce this year’s winner

The BBC avoided a major embarrassment after Lewis Hamilton was crowned Sports Personality of the Year and Tyson Fury failed to finish in the top three.

Hamilton became only the fifth person to win the award more than once after equalling Michael Schumacher’s record of seven Formula One world titles and beating his record of Grand Prix victories.

The 35-year-old won the public vote ahead of Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson and trailblazing jockey Hollie Doyle, who finished second and third, respectively.

That spared the BBC being unable to award one of the trophies in the top three after Fury had demanded he be removed from the shortlist and even took legal action over his inclusion.

Hamilton, tipped to be knighted in the New Year Honours, previously won in 2014 and finished second a record four times, including in each of the previous two years.

“I am so, so, so grateful to the British public,” he said. “I think it’s been a long journey together.

“There’s been a huge amount of support, particularly in the British countries and around the world with Brits going across all these different races. And so for them to call in tonight, and award me this great honour, I’m really just so grateful.

“This definitely goes a long way to giving me the best Christmas that I can have given the circumstances.”

Speaking before he was announced as the winner, Hamilton recalled the moment he clinched his record-equalling world title.

“It was such a far-fetched dream for us as a family and there were so many sacrifices for my family and, along the way, so many trials and tribulations, obviously,” he said.

“And I think, just those last few laps and building up to that world title, that dream was becoming a reality and I thought about all my family gave to get me there and it just brought up a lot of emotion that I wasn’t expecting, naturally, but I’m grateful it happened.”

He added of his seven titles: “Firstly, I couldn’t have done that without a great group of people behind me. I’m so grateful for all their hard work. It’s a collaboration.

“Each year, we have to raise the bar. I love that as a driver. Physically and mentally, that’s what I’m challenged with.

“I love what I do and I’ve been passionate about it since I was five years old. So, each year, I come back.”

Hamilton also used the ceremony to reignite the debate about the lack of diversity in Formula One.

He said: “Our sport, it shouldn’t be a matter of where you come from. We’ve really got to fight for gender equality. It shouldn’t matter what your socioeconomic background is or your religion.

“We’ve got to work together collectively and that’s really why I put the Hamilton Commission together, to try to find out really what the barrier are, break those down – it does go down to education.

“There are so many jobs within this industry. And it’s not about seeing the next ‘me’ come through particularly, it’s really about creating opportunities, equal opportunities, and reflective of the outside world.”

Hamilton won despite a late online campaign for Henderson led by Liverpool, which saw his odds plummet during the ceremony.

The two other contenders at the ceremony in Salford, which featured a ‘virtual’ audience of 700, were snooker icon Ronnie O’Sullivan and England bowling great Stuart Broad.

O’Sullivan was chosen for clinching his sixth world title and Broad for becoming only the seventh man to take 500 Test wickets.

As well as Henderson finishing as runner-up, Liverpool also took home the Team of the Year prize for the fourth time, their first such award since they won five trophies in 2001 under Gerard Houllier, who died a week ago, while manager Jurgen Klopp was named Coach of the Year.

Captain Sir Tom Moore, who raised £38.9million for the NHS while walking laps of his garden in the run up to his 100th birthday, won another accolade after being presented with The Helen Rollason Award for outstanding achievement in the face of adversity having already seen a new prize named after him.

The first ever winner of the Captain Tom Young Unsung Hero Award was nine-year old Tobias Weller who, inspired by Captain Tom and managing cerebral palsy and autism, went from walking 50m a day to completing the length of a marathon during lockdown using his walker.

He raised more than £150,292 for Sheffield Children’s hospital and Pace School.

The Unsung Hero Award was given posthumously to Sergeant Matiu Ratana, who was shot dead this year while on police duty.

He was nominated by East Grinstead Rugby Club, where he had been head coach at the time of his death, with his award collected by his partner Su Bushby.

Several winners had been announced prior to last night, including Marcus Rashford, who had been controversially barred from inclusion on the shortlist for the main prize.

The Manchester United and England striker was presented with a Panel Special Award to recognise his work to raise awareness of child food poverty in the UK.

Cage fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov won a public vote to be crowned World Sport Star of the Year after taking his perfect professional record to 29 wins before announcing his retirement.

Diver Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix was named as the Young Sports Personality of the Year after claiming her first solo international title at the FINA Diving Grand Prix in Rostock in the Women’s 10m Platform, aged just 15.

The build-up to last night’s awards was arguably the most chaotic and controversial in the event’s 66-year history.

As well as the row over Fury’s demand to be taken off the shortlist and the omission of Rashford from it, the BBC faced calls to follow the lead of football’s Ballon D’or award and scrap this year’s prize altogether due to the lack of sport that had taken place during a year ravaged by Covid-19.

That was reflected in a shortlist which included only one woman, the lowest number for almost a decade, which prompted a row over gender equality.

The failure by any woman to land the main award since Zara Phillips in 2006 – which was followed by the longest run of all-male winners in its history – had already sparked calls led by Judy Murray for the BBC to create a separate female prize.