Rory McIlroy named BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2025 – as it happened
Time to sign off, I’ll leave you with Sean Ingle’s report,Thanks for joining me,Sports Personality of the Year: Rory McIlroyRunners-up: Ellie Kildunne, Lando NorrisTeam of the Year: Europe’s Ryder Cup teamCoach of the Year: Sarina WiegmanYoung Sports Personality: Michelle AgyemangWorld Sport Star: Armand DuplantisLifetime Achievement Award: Thierry HenryHelen Rollason Award: Sergio Aguiar and David StancombeIf you’re new here, you can get the best of our coverage delivered to your inbox every Sunday,Sign up below:A reminder of Rory McIlroy’s golden year:And with that, the ticker tape flies and Balding, Logan and Scott bid us farewell,That was a very watchable ceremony with plenty of insights – it was also emotional, even fraught, at times.
But it ends with an athlete in formal attire, holding a trophy and looking slightly awkward,Some things never change,“It’s such a honour just to be in this room with all of these incredible people,” says McIlroy,“2025 is the year I made my dreams come true, the year dreams are made of, from Augusta to the Ryder Cup and everything in between,”He thanks the public first, then “my family – my mum and dad, if you’re watching, thank you – my wife Erica, my daughter Poppy, they’re what holds me together.
They couldn’t be here tonight, but I can’t wait to see them and celebrate with them.”“I remember growing up, looking forward to watching this event every year.I’m very honoured to get my hands on this trophy.Hopefully I can challenge for it again next year!”It’s Rory! A huge cheer goes up.Another elusive trophy is bagged, and for all the incredible achievements across the year, he feels like the right winner.
She looks a little stunned, and has to be nudged by her teammates to go up on stage.We now go straight to the winner announcement – it’s McIlroy or Norris.Here we go, then – the big one.Sports Personality of the Year 2025, to be presented by Keely Hodgkinson and Thierry Henry.The top three: Ellie Kildunne, Rory McIlroy and Lando Norris.
Well.I’d say that looks like good news for McIlroy’s hopes.He starts by paying tribute to the Red Roses and Lionesses’ achievements.“We’re up here as the 12 players, but we couldn’t have done what we did at Bethpage without the captain and all the backroom team,” he adds, while Tommy Fleetwood manages to escape without saying a word.Now the team of the year award – why do they pack so many prizes into the final 10 minutes? Hannah Cockroft and AP McCoy are presenting this one.
It goes to …It goes to the young England striker whose penchant for late heroics captivated the nation (and Seb Hutchinson) this summer.She takes to the stage on crutches, having sustained an ACL injury in October.“Wow.Thank you so much,” she says.“To all my team mates, coaches, I am so grateful.
To my family, who have supported me throughout my career – even if it hasn’t been that long! I love you.A big thank you to God for this opportunity.I’m so thankful.”Nitro and Lucy Bronze? Name a more iconic duo, etc.They’re on stage to announce the Young Sports Personality prize, which Harry Aikines-Aryeetey (to use his actual name) won in 2005.
The winner is …Eddie Hearn reacts to the year in boxing and MMA, and the vote is now closed.The team of the year and the main Spoty award should be announced in the next five to 10 minutes.We hope.It’s a Sports Personality tradition: the year in rugby league! There’s a romantic tale here though, as Hull Kingston Rovers won the Super League grand final to complete a treble.Billy Bonds, Robin Smith, Ray French, Denis Law, Dickie Bird, Eddie Jordan, George Foreman … so many sporting greats.
But it’s the younger faces in the gallery that hit a little harder.Ethan McLeod, Billy Vigar, Michael O’Sullivan, Matt Beard, Ricky Hatton – and Diogo Jota and his brother, André Silva.Now it’s time to remember those we lost from the sporting world this year, while a Bradford City choir performes.They were formed to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Valley Parade fire – the BBC documentary on that is a worthwhile, if difficult, watch.While Big Zhu runs us through the year in domestic football, I’ve just been trying to think of a football coach who has been more transformational than Sarina Wiegman.
Her predecessor as England manager was Phil Neville.The pace keeps cranking up, as we race on to the Coach of the Year award, which goes to … Sarina Wiegman! “I’m part of a tremendous team of players and staff,” she says, adding that she’s sorry for putting England fans through it.She thanks her husband, Martin, for his support.Her final message goes to “every female coach, or future female coach … you really can make a difference and we need more female coaches.”That’s interesting – not too far off bookies’ predictions, but Ellie Kildunne takes a top-three place ahead of Chloe Kelly.
Perhaps having two Lionesses in the top six did split the vote,In no particular order, remember – they are: Ellie Kildunne, Rory McIlroy and Lando Norris!We’re now on to autumn’s great sporting moments, which, while undeniably dramatic, only happened a few weeks ago,Still, Kenny McLean, eh? Iain Stirling is up on stage for a slightly embarrassing tribute to Scotland securing a World Cup place, complete with a “Yes Sir, I Can Boogie” backing track,Although he’s surely the first person to ever say “Morocco’s getting pumped” on live TV,World Sport Star of the Year: No surprises here, it’s Armand Duplantis, who retains his title.
The pole vault superstar is more superhero than athlete at this point, so far ahead of his rivals that they cheer him on as he tries to keep breaking his own world record,Which he’s done 14 times,A look back at Wimbledon, where Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek emerged victorious, in a clip narrated breathlessly by Richard E Grant,As good a reason as any to post this:Finally, we hear from Ellie Kildunne, the sixth nominee for tonight’s big award,“The impact that the whole team, the whole World Cup has had, it’s something you can only dream of.
It’ll go down in history … not just for women’s rugby, but for women in sport,”Yes, it’s the Women’s Rugby World Cup – an entirely joyous occasion where the favourites were utterly dominant, while still remaining inherently likeable,We hear from captain Zoe Aldcroft – “It was about keeping calm, keeping emotion out of it” – and Sadia Kabeya, the player of the final,“It’s great the competition we have in the team, it pushes all to get better,”In previous years, Sports Personality has fallen into the “Question of Sport” zone – ie.
a bit boring, even if you like sport – but there’s so much to pack in this year.Eighty minutes in, and we’ve only just got to a World Cup on home soil …Alex Scott goes straight in, asking Hampton about her grandfather, who died just before the Euros.“He was my rock, the one who helped me make the dream happen,” she says.“Everything I’ve achieved is down to my parents pushing me, my coaches who kept me going.” On that penalty shootout with Spain: “It was my time to give back to the team, the girls who had run about for 120 minutes.
I tried not to think about anything else.”Now, we move on to Kelly’s teammate, England’s other penalty maestro – goalkeeper Hannah Hampton.In a VT, she talks tearfully about being left out of the squad in 2022.“The only thing that kept me going was my mum,” she says.“I felt like I’d let her down, [but] I’m so glad I didn’t give up.
” Hers is another remarkable sporting story in a year full of them.Chloe Kelly is out for an interview, and gets a big reception.“To score goals at Wembley and play for your country is a huge honour – you’ve always got to take any chance you get with both hands.” What got her through the tough times earlier this year? “Falling back in love with the game when Arsenal came calling.I’m grateful to Sarina too, and the players out on the pitch with me.
”Chloe Kelly is recounting her year from the confines of a concrete five-a-side pitch – the kind of place where she would play against boys growing up.Sarina Wiegman praises her as “ruthless … she’s got something in her that she wants to prove people wrong.” Alessia Russo adds: “whatever’s going on for her, when she steps on the pitch she puts it all aside.”Some news from elsewhere, regarding a former Spoty nominee – Charlotte Dujardin, who has returned to competition after a one-year ban.Now to the Lionesses’ Euro 2025 triumph – an extraordinary feat of resolve, team spirit and simply never knowing when they were beaten.
All the highlights are there: Agyemaaaang, Hampton’s saves, Russo’s header, Chloe Kelly’s prancing penalty kick.But there’s also an important word of support from Jill Scott for Jess Carter, and a message: “Stick to football? We’re better than that.”Luke Littler is here for a video chat – he’s at his practice space in St Helens, quashing rumours he’s skipped the awards for a night on the Xbox.He’s excited to try and defend his world title, and enjoyed returning to Ally Pally as world No 1.There are some “darts fans” in the crowd who look suspiciously like people who were persuaded to put foam dartboards on their heads.
It’s an unnecessary touch.
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A delicious, gelatine-free panna cotta that saves yoghurt from the waste binI was really shocked to learn from environmental action NGO Wrap that, of the 51,000 tonnes of yoghurt that’s wasted in the UK every year, half of it is in unopened pots! The reason is our old arch enemy, date labels, which can cause confusion and trick us into thinking that perfectly safe yoghurt is not OK to eat. That’s one reason many supermarkets have scrapped use-by dates on the likes of yoghurt, but they still use best-before dates. Remember, if a product doesn’t have a use-by date, always do the sniff test before throwing it away.Today’s recipe is a light, gelatine-free version of panna cotta that’s instead set with agar agar (a type of seaweed), which gives it a soft-set texture. It’s refreshing, deliciously sour and simple to make
Benjamina Ebuehi’s pistachio and cherry meringue cake recipe | The sweet spot
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Australian supermarket canned peaches taste test: the winner has an ‘absurdly low price’
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All about the baby cheeses: how to curate a festive cheeseboard to remember
What should I serve on my Christmas cheeseboard?David, via emailIt will come as no surprise that Mathew Carver, founder of Pick & Cheese, The Cheese Barge and Rind, eats a lot of cheese, so in an effort to keep his festive selection interesting, he usually focuses on a specific area or region: “Last year, for instance, I spent Christmas in Scotland and served only local cheese.” Wales is up later this month. “I’m a creature of habit and tend always to go back to the cheeses I love, so this strategy makes me try new ones,” he explains – plus there’s nothing to stop you slipping in a classic such as comté in there too, because, well, Christmas.Unless you’re going for “the baller move” of just serving one glorious cheese, Bronwen Percival, technical director of Neal’s Yard Dairy, would punt for three or four “handsome wedges, rather than slivers of too many options”. After all, few have “the time or attention for a board that needs a lot of explaining”
Georgina Hayden’s recipe for pear, sticky ginger and pecan pudding
While our Christmas Day dinner doesn’t deviate too much from tradition, I do experiment with the dessert. My family, bar one sweet-toothed aunt, avoids dried fruit-based offerings, so classic Christmas cakes and puddings are a hard no. Over the years, I have tried variations on yule logs, pavlovas and sherry trifles, but the biggest crowdpleaser is easily sticky toffee pudding (or something along those lines). This year, I’m making this warming, simple but decadent pear, sticky ginger and pecan pudding, which feels festive and fancy, and can happily make an appearance whenever.This can be made the day before and reheated before serving
How to make nesselrode pudding – recipe | Felicity Cloake's Masterclass
A luxurious iced dessert stuffed full of boozy dried fruit, candied peel and frozen chestnut pureeThis festive, frozen chestnut puree dessert is often credited to the great 19th-century chef Antonin Carême, even though the man himself conceded that this luxurious creation was that of Monsieur Mony, chef to the Russian diplomat Count Nesselrode (albeit, he observed somewhat peevishly, inspired by one of his own chestnut puddings). It was originally served with hot, boozy custard – though I think it’s just enough as it is – and it makes a fabulous Christmas centrepiece,Prep 15 min Soak Overnight Cook 20 min Freeze 2 hr+ Serves 6125g currants, or raisins or sultanas50g good-quality candied peel, finely chopped75ml maraschino, or other sweet alcohol of your choice (see step 2)1 vanilla pod, split, or 1 tsp vanilla extract600ml whipping cream 4 egg yolks 50g caster sugar 45g flaked almonds 125g whole peeled cooked chestnuts, or unsweetened chestnut pureePut the fruit and peel in a bowl. Mony’s recipe is reported to have contained currants and raisins (though other vine fruit, or indeed any chopped dried fruit you prefer, will work), as well as candied citron, the peel of a mild, thick-skinned citrus, which is available online, as are other candied peels that are far nicer than those chewy, greasy nubs sold in supermarkets.Add the alcohol: maraschino, an Italian sour cherry liqueur, is the original choice, but Claire Macdonald uses an orange triple sec, Victorian ice queen Agnes B Marshall brandy and noyaux, an almond-flavoured liqueur made from apricot kernels, and Regula Ysewijn mixes maraschino with dark rum. Madeira, sherry, port, etc, would surely be good, too
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