BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award

Sports Personality of the Year was created by Paul Fox, who thought of 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. For the first show, votes were sent 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. Approximately 14,500 votes were cast, and Christopher Chataway beat Roger Bannister to win the inaugural BBC Sportsview's Personality of the Year Award. == Nomination procedure ==

The shortlist is announced a few weeks before the award ceremony, and the winner is determined on the night by a public telephone and on-line vote. Prior to 2012, a panel of 30 sports journalists each submitted a list of 10 contenders. From these contenders a shortlist of ten nominees was determined. This method was criticized following the selection of an all-male shortlist in 2011. The selection process for contenders was changed for the 2012 and subsequent awards by the introduction of an expert panel. The panel produces a shortlist that reflects UK sporting achievements on the national and/or international stage, represents the breadth and depth of UK sports and takes into account 'impact' within and beyond the sport or sporting achievement in question. ==Winners==

Five people have won the award more than once: tennis player Andy Murray is the only person to have won three times and the only person to have won in consecutive years, while boxer Henry Cooper and Formula One drivers Nigel Mansell, Lewis Hamilton and Damon Hill have each won twice. Princess Anne (1971) and her daughter Zara Phillips (2006) are the only award-winners to be members of the same family. The oldest recipient of the award is Dai Rees, who won in 1957 aged 44. Ian Black, who won the following year, aged 17, is the youngest winner. 17 sporting disciplines have been represented; athletics has the highest representation, with 17 recipients. Counting Torvill and Dean separately, there have been 48 English winners of the award, six Scottish, and one Manx. Awards by year By sport This table lists the total number of awards won by the winner's sport. Accurate up to and including the 2025 award. By number of awards The below table lists all people who have finished in the top three places more than once. By gender This table lists the total number of awards won by the winner's gender. The figure-skating couple Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean are counted as a single mixed-gender winner. Accurate up-to and including the 2025 award. ==See also==