SPOTY

That’s Sports Personality of the Year, to you and me. (Actually, I have no idea if anyone uses that acronym. I doubt it.)<br />
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Compelling viewing, year after year. Why? It’s those awful interviews when either Lineker or Barker quizzes someone for about one minute, gaining no insight into their personality or sport, but long enough to make a truly horrendous comment. Tonight’s selection was particularly bad.<br />
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Sue Barker interviewing Mike Ruddock, rugby coach of Wales. “So, how can you make next season a success? If you can keep Henson out of church…” <br />
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Gary Lineker interviewing Paula Radcliffe: “Perhaps next year you could bring a portaloo.”<br />
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Lineker again, with Zara Philips “now here’s some other posh totty…”<br />
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This is terrible stuff. Yet they intersperse it with touching features about top cyclists battling cancer and raising funds for charity, without realising how viciously the programme lurches from being uplifting to cringe-making.<br />
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The other thing is the lack of editorial judgement. Throwing Amir Kahn and Andy Murray together worked – just. They both seem like savvy kids, and their conversation seemed relatively natural. But the interview with Kevin Pietersen in front of the rest of the England cricket team was so awkward, I didn’t know who to feel sorry for. And in the tennis review of the year, they forgot to mention that Marat Safin won the Australian Open. Just a minor point there.<br />
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Oh, Freddie won the overall award. About time. Now if they could just give him a rest so he can play some cricket…