Gary Lineker is the latest antique to fall as SPOTY loses its glitz and glamour | Football | Sport

Does anybody care about the Sports Personality of the Year award anymore? The BBC honour is celebrating its 71st birthday on Tuesday – but there’s no way it’ll be getting a letter from the King; the candles will be blown out before it makes a century.

Luke Littler is the second favourite for the gong and he didn’t even know who his main challenger was.

Britain’s 800m Olympic gold medalist Keely Hodgkinson is the top favourite. “Is it a runner?” Littler nonchalantly asked.

The sad state of affairs is that a lot of the younger audience won’t know either.

Last year’s two-hour-long ceremony had an average viewership of 2.9 million so there is still a decent audience tuning in. But it was beaten by Emmerdale on the night.

SPOTY was moved from a prime Sunday evening slot to a Tuesday in 2022 to avoid a clash with the World Cup final.

But questions hang over why it has remained midweek ever since, perhaps signifying a fall in numbers.

For context, Antiques Roadshow headlines BBC One this Sunday night instead. But one antique won’t be on our screens – Gary Lineker.

After 23 years of presenting SPOTY, the 64-year-old will leave a huge hole after stepping down. The glitz and glamour is falling one piece at a time.

Ange in

THIS is a plea to Daniel Levy – please don’t sack Ange Postecoglou.

Tottenham are the most entertaining side in the Premier League, isn’t that what sport is about?

Nobody enjoys watching Manchester City pass teams to death (when they used to), but everybody will tune in to watch Spurs these days.