A very poignant film now about Sgt Matt Ratana, the police officer who was killed on duty in September. He was head coach at East Grinstead RFC and clearly had a huge impact on the people at the club. He posthumously wins the Unsung Hero Award.

We were warned about this … it’s Rick Astley! He’s singing a song, while we see some contenders for the ‘Unsung Hero’ award.

A recap of the contenders:

Stuart Broad Passed 500 Test wickets for his career, having caused a stir with his reaction to being dropped for the first Test. Also enjoyed a renaissance with the bat and at 34 stressed he has plenty more in him.

Hollie Doyle Had her first winner at Royal Ascot on 33-1 shot Scarlet Dragon and at Windsor in August became the first woman to ride five winners at one meeting. Won twice on Champions Day.

Tyson Fury Took the WBC heavyweight title off Deontay Wilder in February with a seventh-round knockout, a superb performance against an opponent of the American’s calibre. In line to fight Anthony Joshua next year.

Lewis Hamilton Took his seventh world title, equalling Michael Schumacher’s record, with his fourth in a row. He now has 95 wins, four more than the German’s previous record, and has extended his pole record to 98.

Jordan Henderson Captained Liverpool to their first league title since 1990, by a margin of 18 points, at which point the Reds were English, European and world champions. Helped lead the game’s response to the pandemic.

Ronnie O’Sullivan His sixth world title at the Crucible made him the oldest winner, at 40, since the 45-year-old Ray Reardon won in 1978.

And that’s that. They’ve spoken to all the contenders. Or all the contenders who actually want to win. Voting is now open! You’ve got 25 minutes or so to vote, should you wish to do so.

Now, the England cricketer Stuart Broad. “In the last 18 months, Stuart has been bowling as well as he ever had,” says Jimmy Anderson. And he should know.

There are some words from Broad about being dropped for that first Test match against West Indies:

“I had a few days of being quite disappointed … but I’ve got some great people around me and they dragged me out of it … I probably catastrophised it a bit in my own mind … but that turned into a burning fire and I was desperate to take some wickets and win some games. It’s very special to be nominated, I’ve watched this show since I was a kid, and I don’t think my Dad was ever nominated …”

Lewis Hamilton is up next. The Formula One world champion for a seventh time, he won SPOTY in 2014, and has been nominated in seven other years aside from that.

Looking back on winning his seventh title, he says: “I’ve been racing for 27 years. It’s taken a long time, it was such a far-fetched dream for us as a family … that dream was becoming a reality [in the final few laps of the decisive race], I thought about all my family gave to get me there, and a lot of emotion came up.”

Asked about his work in support of Black Lives Matter, and as F1’s only black driver, Hamilton adds: “It’s never been a diverse sport … this year we’ve seen so many inspirational individuals, and congratulations to Marcus there … We’ve got to work together collectively … it goes down to education … and removing those barriers for black kids getting into this industry [Formula One]. It’s not just about the next ‘me’ coming through.”

After a profile of Rashford’s upbringing, some words from his mother, and details of his campaign for free school meals, Rashford explains his personal motivation:

“It all started, growing up as a kid, I felt if it was a 100-metre race, I started 50 metres behind everyone else … it was a nightmare situation to be in … but once I got there [as a professional footballer], I had something eating away at me, saying: “Make sure you make a difference for the next generation.” As a country we should always protect them [children] as much as we can.”

“I didn’t expect it,” he says of the success of his campaign. “I tried it in Manchester a few years ago … then I got injured and I said to my Mum and brothers: “I’m going to have another go at it.” But we didn’t expect what happened.”

He’s an inspiration.

A quick montage now of some of the other big moments of the year: Frankie Dettori, Naomi Osaka, Dominic Thiem, Arsenal winning the FA Cup, Bryson DeChambeau at the US Open, Tadej Pogacar at the Tour de France … but now, it’s time to recognise the achievements of a seriously impressive man and footballer: Marcus Rashford.

It’s Ronnie time.

Steve Davis, Barry Hearn, and a voiceover by the one and only Danny Dyer, I think. “He’s a bona fide genius,” says Davis.

Balding asks O’Sullivan about his longevity: “The first half of my career was just on talent … the second half I delved into the mental side and worked with Steve Peters. The first half was youth and fearlessness – the second half, you obviously have a few battle scars … I needed to address them and I’m a much more rounded player now because of that.”

Scott asks him about keeping fit: “I’ve played my best snooker when I couldn’t run, when I had injuries … I’ve just got back into running now. The week before the UK Championship, I ran 55 miles, and I got to the tournament I was absolutely knackered. Sometimes I get it a bit wrong.”

“For Steve Davis to say that … it probably means more to me than any trophies that I’ve won. I’m proud someone like Steve speaks about me in those terms. He was my hero, growing up.”

Voting will not open until they’ve interviewed all six contenders. We’re three down now including Fury – with Hollie Doyle and Jordan Henderson actually being good enough to turn up for a chat.

“What does it mean to you to be part of this club, at this special time?” Lineker asks Henderson.

“Everything,” he replies.

“I just want to keep getting better, the manager tells me off sometimes for training too hard …”

A Champions League, a Premier League and Club World Cup is a tidy little haul for Liverpool. And Henderson must be the most improved player in the Premier League, when you consider his abilities several years ago. He has gone to another level.

Voting isn’t actually open yet, but it’s only a matter of time. Who will you be voting for?

The Liverpool and Jordan Henderson section is just starting. “A leader on and off the pitch, he’s galvanised the Reds into a winning machine,” says Gary Lineker.

Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp speaks: “It’s said we don’t have one superstar – for us, the team is the star. This is true. But you, Jordan, are a superstar at making us that team. You are a world-class athlete and football player, but you are an even better human being.”

There’s some footage of Liverpool’s march to last season’s title too and some words from fans.

Now it’s time for the Helen Rollason Award, and a reminder of the heroic efforts of the 100-year-old Sir Tom Moore, who raised £38.9million for NHS charities during lockdown. A truly astonishing achievement. Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill has gone to hand over the award.

Tao Geoghegan-Hart, the Giro d’Italia winner – unlucky to miss out on a nomination?

Contender No 2: the jockey Hollie Doyle, who’s had a phenomenal year. Doyle’s boyfriend and fellow jockey Tom Marquand says: “She’s physically stronger than most of the weighing room.”

AP McCoy adds: “She’s a worker, she’s a grafter, she puts in the hard hours, that’s what it’s all about to get to the top. She’s top-class.”

Doyle herself says: “It’s probably been the best year of my life.”

And she’s actually in the studio with the team! Which makes a change from Fury.

Tyson Fury is the first contender to be profiled. There are words from Ricky Hatton and Vinnie Jones on Fury’s comeback from depression and addiction to win another heavyweight title.

Logan then pulls no punches after the Fury-montage: “He’s decided not to engage with the show or accept any award, and that’s Tyson’s choice.”

Lineker: “It certainly is, but you can ignore him of course … it’s your choice on how you vote.”

So you can vote for Fury if you want, even though he doesn’t want you to. Clear?

The four presenters are on stage – Gabby Logan, Gary Lineker, Clare Balding and Alex Scott – after a little video intro from that man again, Joe Wicks. There is also a virtual crowd on lots of screens – and some previous SPOTY winners who are live on screens in their homes too – Chris Hoy, Damon Hill, Geraint Thomas and more.

Captain Sir Tom Moore lends his voice to the opening montage. There are flashes of some of the great sporting moments of the year – including a flash of Joe Wicks, the personal trainer sensation of lockdown.

There’s also some words from Lewis Hamilton after clinching that F1 title: “It is so important for kids to see this, and don’t listen to anyone who says you can’t achieve something. Dream the impossible. You have got to chase it and never give up.”

Hamilton is the bookies’ favourite: he was untouchable for Mercedes in winning a seventh world title, drawing level with the record set by the legendary Michael Schumacher.

Doyle is second favourite, followed by Henderson, O’Sullivan, Fury and Broad. A Fury win would be somewhat reminiscent of the time Ronnie O’Brien, of Middlesbrough and Juventus, was nearly voted Time’s Man of the Century.

Stuart Broad Passed 500 Test wickets for his career, having caused a stir with his reaction to being dropped for the first Test. Also enjoyed a renaissance with the bat and at 34 stressed he has plenty more in him.

Hollie Doyle Had her first winner at Royal Ascot on 33-1 shot Scarlet Dragon and at Windsor in August became the first woman to ride five winners at one meeting. Won twice on Champions Day.

Tyson Fury Took the WBC heavyweight title off Deontay Wilder in February with a seventh-round knockout, a superb performance against an opponent of the American’s calibre. In line to fight Anthony Joshua next year.

Lewis Hamilton Took his seventh world title, equalling Michael Schumacher’s record, with his fourth in a row. He now has 95 wins, four more than the German’s previous record, and has extended his pole record to 98.

Jordan Henderson Captained Liverpool to their first league title since 1990, by a margin of 18 points, at which point the Reds were English, European and world champions. Helped lead the game’s response to the pandemic.

Ronnie O’Sullivan His sixth world title at the Crucible made him the oldest winner, at 40, since the 45-year-old Ray Reardon won in 1978.

This is a BBC Sports Personality of the Year with a difference. For a start, it’s the first time one of the contenders has asked to be taken off the list, so Tyson Fury has already made it unique.

What else has been different, in general, as we assess the past 12 months? Not very much: just the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic, which has impacted sport in any number of ways at any number of levels. And the racist murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May, which sparked a global wave of action against racial discrimination in the form of the Black Lives Matter campaign. It’s been quite a year.

Christmas may now be cancelled for many of us in the UK, but while the national grid remains operational you can be sure that we’ll continue to watch sport on telly. Despite the pandemic there’s been plenty of memorable sport, too, from Lewis Hamilton’s record-equalling seventh world Formula One title to Liverpool’s first Premier League title in 30 years.

For the next two hours Gabby Logan, Clare Balding, Alex Scott and Gary Lineker will be taking us on a socially-distanced journey through the highs and lows of 2020, and at the end of it, we’ll have a SPOTY for 2020 voted by fans across the land. A breakdown of tonight’s contenders to follow shortly.