Russell Fuller
BBC tennis correspondent

The women’s Grand Slams were won by four different players. A pregnant Serena Williams won in Melbourne at the start of the year; Jelena Ostapenko hit 299 winners as she claimed the French Open title two days after her 20th birthday; Garbine Muguruza lifted the Venus Rosewater Dish at Wimbledon; and then Sloane Stephens, who could not put any weight on her foot for the first four months of the year, won the US Open in New York.

Johanna Konta was Britain’s star in 2017 as she reached the top four in the world, won the prestigious Miami Open and then became the first British woman to reach the singles’ semi-finals at Wimbledon since 1978. Venus Williams proved too good, but only after Konta had won an exceptional and wonderfully atmospheric quarter-final against Simona Halep under the Centre Court roof.

Johanna Konta is joined in her VT by Virginia Wade, who won the Sports Personality award back in 1977, when she beat runner-up Geoffrey Boycott to the accolade.

The music playing is from a duo called Grasscut and the track is called Curlews.

Having flown straight in from Copenhagen and winning another gold medal - and giving it away to a young fan in the crowd - Olympic champion Adam Peaty says it's about inspiring the next generation:

"We can go out here - these top 12 guys and girls - and inspire the next generation. I think that performance is in history and you can get loads of golds but her, she's going to remember that for the rest of her life, so if she wants to be best swimmer in the world, the doctor, she's been inspired and that's what sport's about for me."

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Now THIS is an entrance...

Image source, BBC Sport

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The film crew had all sorts to deal with when they went to shoot with superbike star Jonathan Rea.

They arrived at the beautiful Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland to be greeted by wind, rain and general unpleasantness from Storm Caroline (not named after me, I hasten to add).

How cute are his kids, by the way? DUDES!

Sports Personality contender Harry Kane walks out on stage with fellow nominee swimmer Adam Peaty and is asked what has transformed him from being on the bench in the Championship five years ago to England captain.

"Self belief and hard work - that's what I always say to young boys and girls. Always believe in yourself," the Tottenham striker says.

What are England capable of in the World Cup in Russia next summer?

"Who knows. Let's go there with a clear mind, we've got an amazing team and amazing manager.

"The best thing ever would be to win it and bring it home."

Image source, BBC Sport

David McDaid
BBC Sport Olympic sports reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Three years after her disappointments at the Sochi Winter Olymipcs, GB’s speed skater Elise Christie established herself as the world’s best.

At the Short Track Speed Skating World Championships in Rotterdam, the Scot won three golds at 100m, 1500m and the overall women’s title.

Christie rounded off her World Cup season this year with gold in the 500m in Seoul.

In February, having had a year away from the sport, Olympic champion Lizzy Yarnold capped her comeback season on the skeleton circuit with a World Championships bronze.

Michael Kiwanuka serenades us on this Elise Christie film, with his song 'Rule the World'.

The shoot was done in Nottingham, at the speed skater's training rink.

How she makes slipping and sliding look so graceful, I'll never know.

Frank Keogh
BBC Sport at the Echo Arena, Liverpool

Harry Kane was interviewed earlier by eight-year-old Braydon Bent for the Jamie Johnson football podcast on CBBC and BBC 5 live. "It was amazing. I'm a Man City fan but I just didn't want to mention it," said Braydon.

David McDaid
BBC Sport Olympic sports reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Great Britain’s swimmers won four golds at the World Aquatics Championships in July with Adam Peaty once again the star performer.

The Olympic champion claimed individual golds in the 100m and 50m breaststroke events - becoming the first man to swim under 26 seconds over the shorter distance, setting a new world record at 25.95 seconds.

Ben Proud (above) took his first world title in the 50m butterfly, while the 4x200m freestyle relay team also won gold.

Prior to the swimming in Budapest, Tom Daley reclaimed the 10m platform gold at the diving pool. Daley had last won the event as aged just 15 in 2009.

In addition to the gold medals, the divers also won two silvers, while there was a silver and three bronzes for the swimmers.

Two-time Paralympic champion Jonnie Peacock:

"I think we've been blessed in British athletics, we've got such a great team that we produce and coaches - I've been lucky to be handed down to some amazing coaches that always make sure I'm in the peak of my game."

On his Strictly Come Dancing performance:

"It was tough - the training hours were long and it was mentally exhausting. Everybody was having ice baths and my body couldn't keep up!"

Image source, BBC Sport

Now this is super cool.

Our SPOTY team went and filmed an actual real life lion for Adam Peaty's video.

The lion is called Artis and apparently he scared the bejeezus out of the crew when he let out a massive roar and it shook the whole room.

The concept stems from the intricate tattoo of a big cat on the swimmers' arm, which his Twitter-famous nan, Mavis, also copied earlier in the year.

We're not joking. Look...

Image source, Getty Images

Here's Harry Kane with the man, the legend Alan Shearer.

It was 22 years ago that Shearer hit an incredible 36 Premier League goals in a calendar year.

No player has matched that feat since, but Kane is on the chase. He's three off the target with two weeks to go.

Image source, Getty Images

Russell Fuller
BBC tennis correspondent

The year started with a debate about whether Andy Murray would be able to maintain his edge over Novak Djokovic at the top of the world rankings. As it turned out, neither played again after Wimbledon and the talk in the men’s game was of two 30-somethings on the comeback from injury.

That Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal should split 2017’s four Grand Slams was remarkable. Nadal won his 10th French Open title at Roland Garros in June, but the most memorable occasion of the year was when Federer recovered from 1-3 down in the fifth set to beat the Spaniard in the Australian Open final. It was his first competitive event for six months.

Federer only lost five times all year, and won all four of his meetings with Nadal, but it was Nadal who ended the year on top of the rankings.

Marie Indge: #SPOTY has its own emoji ... that is all!

Linz: My favourite TV night of the year #SPOTY

Jordan Barnard: Always look forward to #SPOTY

Kiran Parmar: One of the best openings to #SPOTY in recent times!

Oh and these sort of bags. It's his girlfriend's, apparently. Very glitzy.

The first contender video tonight is Jonnie Peacock's.

It was filmed in Loughborough, and features music by man-of-the-moment Stormzy, with his track Blinded by Your Grace part II.

There's also a bit of Johnny B. Goode by Chuck Berry, which Peacock did the jive to on week two of Strictly Come Dancing.

He said live on the show on Saturday night that he might be "a bit hungover" from the wrap party. Look out for the bags under his eyes...

Image source, PA

Image source, Getty Images

The World Para-athletics Championships was such a huge success many athletes suggested that the London Stadium could become its permanent home.

More than 230,000 people attended this year's event - more than in all eight of the previous championships combined.

Wheelchair racer Hannah Cockroft won three of Great Britain's 18 golds, triumphing in the T34 100m, 400m and 800m.

She has now won 10 world titles, to go with her five Paralympic gold medals, and is undefeated at major competitions.

However, revisions to the Para-athletics classification system have been hugely controversial, with claims of cheating and misrepresentation of disability. New rules are due to take effect on 1 January.

Meanwhile, Alfie Hewett won the French Open wheelchair singles title and retained the Wimbledon men's wheelchair doubles title alongside fellow Briton Gordon Reid.

Jordanne Whiley and partner Yui Kamiji took the Wimbledon women's wheelchair doubles title. Whiley later revealed she was 11 weeks pregnant at the time.

Image source, BBC Sport

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