SPOTY 2025 live: Rory McIlroy battles Chloe Kelly and Lando Norris for prestigious BBC award – UK Times

The darts sensation was the runner-up in last year’s SPOTY to Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson, and yet the biggest result of his young career came just a few weeks later when he defeated Michael van Gerwen in the Ally Pally final to become the youngest world champion of all time, aged 17 years and 347 days.

Littler is once again disadvantaged that his signature moment came so long ago but he has continued to dominate throughout the season, winning the World Grand Prix and Grand Slam of Darts to become the youngest World No 1 in darts history.

With the F1 title battle reaching the final weekend of the season, the timing could be key for Norris if the 26-year-old is to add SPOTY to his maiden World Championship crown. By joining the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Jackie Stewart to become the 11th British driver to win the world title, Norris dealt with setbacks impressively to hold off a charging Max Verstappen and displayed admirable toughness and class to emerge from a potentially bitter fight with teammate Oscar Piastri in charge of the title fight.

The honesty and humility Norris showed after his crowning moment could endear the popular McLaren driver to SPOTY voters, too. He said: “If you compare me to all the champions from the past, have I been as aggressive as them? No. Have I been as daring? No, but did I do what I needed to win a world championship and perform under the most pressure, and did I come back the way I needed to? I did. What makes me very proud is that I could prove myself wrong.”

With her trademark penalty run-up and unwavering confidence, Kelly’s impact from the bench rescued the Lionesses at Euro 2025 and then delivered glory for Sarina Wiegman’s side as they defended their European title in Switzerland. Despite not starting a single match, Kelly inspired the comeback against Sweden in the quarter-finals, scored the winner against Italy in the semi-finals, and netted the decisive penalty in the shootout win over Spain as the Lionesses became the first England team to win a major honour abroad. What a run.

Kelly could have quit football at the start of the year, as she was frozen out at Manchester City. But a loan move to Arsenal was the spark she needed and her resilience in coming back summed up England’s campaign. With over 16.2 million watching England’s win over Spain, the biggest TV audience of the year, don’t rule out Kelly following Beth Mead and Mary Earps and the Lionesses winning SPOTY for the third time in four years.

This has to be McIlroy’s best chance of finally winning SPOTY, a position reflected by the fact that he is planning on attending the ceremony for the first time in a decade. If you could script a year in golf, you would write it like this, with McIlroy ending his long quest for the holy grail at the Masters on an astonishing final day at Augusta that wrecked the nerves of everyone else watching at home. On the brink of another collapse, he stared his vulnerabilities in the face and defied them in a career-defining display that summed up his unique appeal.

And yet, what actually might swing it for McIlroy was what he faced at Bethpage Black, as he was targeted with vile and personal abuse from the US fans at the Ryder Cup, and what he delivered again as he helped lead Luke Donald’s team to a stunning victory away from home. “I made my dreams come true at Augusta, then to do what we’ve done… I don’t think there will be a better year in my golfing career,” McIlroy said.

The nominees were confirmed a week out from tonight’s ceremony in Salford, where one sporting star will be crowned after a year of sensational drama and achievement.

With 2025 defined by success for England’s female national teams, it is no surprise that Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses and the Red Roses make up a good portion of the shortlist.

The awards show will take place form 7pm until 9pm tonight. BBC presenters Clare Balding, Gabby Logan and Alex Scott will host the ceremony from MediaCity in Salford.

Hello and welcome to live coverage of the 2025 BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards. Who is nominated? Who will triumph? Who will give a speech that lasts slightly too long? Stick with us as we follow all the latest from the awards ceremony tonight.