BBC Sports Personality of the Year - 2009

Live from the Sheffield Arena, Sue Barker, Gary Lineker and Jake Humphrey present a celebration of the best moments from an exceptional year of sport. The evening climaxes with the presentation of the most prestigious award in British sport when the Sports Personality of the Year is crowned - an award chosen by the viewers live on the night from a shortlist of 10 contenders. This year's race promises to be one of the closest for years. 2009 was the year when Britain's Jenson Button was crowned world formula one champion for the first time; while England's cricketers regained the Ashes and their female counterparts claimed a clean sweep of the Ashes, the World Cup, and the World Twenty20. Jessica Ennis and Phillips Idowu both collected gold at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin; Andy Murray reached number two in the world tennis rankings; Tom Daley won a world diving title at the age of just 15 and Ireland celebrated a first Six Nations grand slam in 61 years. David Haye became Britain's first world heavyweight champion since 2003 by beating a 7 foot opponent; Beth Tweddle thrilled the home crowd with gold on the floor at the World Gymnastics Championships and Ryan Giggs inspired Manchester United to yet another Premiership title. This year's is the biggest in the 56-year history of Sports Personality of the Year with an audience of nearly 11,000 and it's the first time the event has ever been staged in Yorkshire. The glittering cast list also includes many of the world's biggest sporting names - including many of the former winners such as Joe Calzaghe, Lord Sebastian Coe, Sir Chris Hoy, Paula Radcliffe, Sir Steve Redgrave and Dame Kelly Holmes.