BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award have been represented; athletics has the highest representation, with 17 recipients. Counting Torvill and Dean separately, there have been 48 English winners of the award, six Scottish, five Welsh, three Northern Irish, and one Manx. Since the award ceremony began only on one occasion (2013) have none of the podium placers been English. On three occasions a sportsman from outside the United Kingdom has made the podium, on each occasion for sporting success achieved in Great Britain; New Zealand speedway star Barry Briggs (1964 and 1966) and Italian jockey Frankie Dettori (1996). Barry McGuigan, Greg Rusedski and Lennox Lewis originally
BBC Sports Personality of the Year half-hour special programmes, entitled "Simply The Best – Sports Personality", were broadcast. Hosted by Gary Lineker, the episodes were shown on BBC One for five consecutive nights from 8 to 2003 and each covered one decade of Sports Personality. To celebrate the golden anniversary of the show, a special award was voted for by the public to recognise an all-time Golden Sports Personality from the previous winners of the last 49 years. A shortlist of five was planned to contain one winner from each decade of the award; however, the actual shortlist contained two winners from the most recent decade—rower