127 Olympians led by Sir Wiggo scoop New Year honours

Gongs galore: 127 Olympians led by Sir Wiggo scoop New Year honours - but there's no Sir Mo Farah or Dame Jess Ennis

• Olympic athletes,coaches and organisers comprise 10% of honours list
• UK's first Tour de France winner Wiggins to be given knighthood
• Paralympic cycling champion Sarah Storey is to be made a dame
• Four-time Olympic gold medalist Ben Ainslie also to be knighted
• CBEs for Jessica Ennis, Mo Farah, David Weir and Victoria Pendleton
• Wiggins describes his 'disbelief' and says it is 'an incredible honour'

By EMILY ANDREWS

PUBLISHED: 00:00, 29 December 2012 | UPDATED: 10:21, 29 December 2012

Arise Sir Wiggo: Bradley Wiggins, Britain's first Tour de France champion, has been given a knighthood in the New Year's honours list

Britain's Olympic heroes have been rewarded for  their success with a record number of gongs in the New Year honours list.

The athletes, coaches and organisers who brought delight to the nation this summer dominate the list like no other group before them.

A staggering 127 awards have been handed out to those involved – more than 10 per cent of the total. The figure is unprecedented in the 122-year history of the list.

Among the 78 athletes and coaches honoured were cyclist Bradley Wiggins and sailor Ben Ainslie, who both received knighthoods.

Sir Bradley, as he will be known, made sporting history this year by becoming the first Briton to win the Tour de France, and followed the feat by scooping an Olympic gold, as well as being crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year. 

He heads a sparkling list of sporting heroes, including Paralympic cyclist Sarah Storey, who was made a dame, and Jessica Ennis, Victoria Pendleton, Mo Farah and David Weir, who all received CBEs.

Wiggins, affectionately known as Wiggo, said: ‘It’s quite something really. I never imagined that I would ever become a knight, so it’s an incredible honour, but there’s a slight element of disbelief, and it will take a while  to sink in. There was never any doubt whether I’d accept it or not, it was more a case that I never saw myself as a Sir, and I probably never will.’ 

The honours crown a year of excellence in British sport – so much so that a special honours list was added to recognise the 65 medals, 29 of them gold, won at this year’s Olympic Games, as well as the 120 medals – including 34 golds – won at the Paralympic Games.

There was also recognition for those behind the Games. Lord Coe, who headed London’s bid team, becomes a Companion of Honour, while Jean Tomlin, who led the Games Maker programme for volunteers to help the event run smoothly, gets an OBE.

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Knight of the road: Wiggins followed his Tour de France triumph with an Olympic gold and was also named BBC Sports Personality of the Year

King Cool: Bradley Wiggins, pictured right in Manchester on Thursday night, said: 'It’s quite something really. I never imagined that I would ever become a knight'

But eyebrows were raised that Mo Farah received only a CBE for his historic double track triumph in the 5000m and 10000m. In 2005, Kelly Holmes was made a dame for winning both the 400m and 800m at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Heptathlete gold medallist and London 2012 poster girl  Jessica Ennis will also have to be content with a CBE. 

Andy Murray, who won Olympic tennis gold before becoming Britain’s first men’s Grand Slam champion for 76 years, can perhaps count himself unlucky to receive just an OBE.

It was also noted that while Sarah Storey was made a dame after her four golds at 2012, her Paralympic teammate, wheelchair athlete David Weir, who also got four golds, was made merely a CBE.

There was no mention of Danny Boyle, creator of the epic Olympics opening ceremony, who reportedly turned down a knighthood, or Stephen Daldry, who staged the closing party.

VIDEO Sir Bradley will take some getting used to 

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Champion: Ben Ainslie, who won four successive Olympic sailing golds, has received a knighthood in the list

Supreme: Sarah Storey is the UK's most successful ever Paralympian and is to be made a dame

There was also nothing for cyclist Chris Hoy, who with six gold medals became Britain’s most successful ever Olympian during the Games, because he had already been knighted after his heroics at the previous Olympics in Beijing.

In 2008, when Britain came fourth in the Olympics’ medal table at Beijing, 54 honours were awarded in the New Year honours list.

Storey, 35, who now has 11 Paralympic gold medals in total and is pregnant with her first child, said: ‘I can’t believe the number of times we’ve said this year, “Oh, can 2012 possibly get any better?” We feel so fortunate that 2012 will always stand out as being the most incredible year.

‘2012 has been quite amazing. I am still pinching myself, literally.’ 

Nation's favourite: Jessica Ennis, who was the face of the Olympics for home fans, received CBEs after her heptathlon triumph in London

Inspiring: Jessica Ennis was the London 2012 poster girl and finished closely behind Bradley Wiggins in the running to be BBC Sports Personality of the Year

Besides Wiggins and Ainslie, the most decorated sailor in Olympic history with four gold medals at four consecutive Games, knighthoods also go to Dave Brailsford and David Tanner, performance directors at British Cycling and British Rowing.

Ainslie said: ‘This is an incredible honour. When I set out Olympic sailing 20 years ago, I never would have dreamt this would happen.’ 

CBEs also went to rower Katherine Grainger and cyclist Victoria Pendleton.

Lady in red: Jessica Ennis attends the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards in London

OBEs go to equestrians Sophie Christiansen and Charlotte Dujardin, Paralympic swimmer Ellie Simmonds and cycling couple Laura Trott and Jason Kenny.

Among those to get MBEs are boxer Nicola Adams; canoeist Timothy Baillie; equestrians Laura Bechtolsheimer and Carl Hester; rowers Katherine Copeland and Helen Glover; wheelchair racer ‘Hurricane’ Hannah Cockcroft; and Paralympic swimmer Josef Craig.

Triathlon gold medallist Alistair Brownlee gets an MBE but brother Jonathan, who took bronze, misses out, while the MBE also goes to Welsh taekwondo gold medallist Jade Jones, Paralympic blade runner Jonnie Peacock, long jump hero Greg Rutherford and silver medal gymnast turned Strictly Come Dancing star Louis Smith.

‘To receive this honour is out of this world and something I never would have dreamt of as I grew up in the sport of gymnastics,’ said Smith, 23.

‘This year has been like no other for so many reasons.

‘For me it’s obviously one I’ll never forget and I wasn’t sure it could get any better, but to be awarded an MBE is the icing on the cake and without a doubt the proudest moment of my life.

‘I just hope this acts as even more inspiration for future generations within sport in this country, further continuing the Olympic legacy.’ 

Swimmer Simmonds, 18, who won two more golds at London 2012 making her a four-time Paralympic champion, said: ‘It’s been a great honour to be included in the list which caps an amazing year for me personally and for British sport.’ 

VIDEO Rowing hero Helen Glover MBE 'an incredible privilege' 

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The honours also recognise those who contributed to London 2012 in a ‘non-sporting capacity’, with 49 ‘back-room’ staff from Paul Deighton, who was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, down to a MBE for volunteer Muhammed Khan.

Away from sport, the Companion of Honour goes to Professor Peter Higgs, namesake of the Higgs boson or so-called ‘God particle’, which was finally proved to exist in July, 48 years after he first proposed it.

No Sir Mo: Mo Farah's gold medal-winning triumphs provided fans with two of the London Olympics greatest moments

Lightning: Mo Farah missed out on a knighthood but has been awarded a CBE

Recognition: Cyclist Victoria Pendleton, who appeared on this year's Strictly Come Dancing, has been awarded a CBE

Recognised with an MBE in the Diplomatic and Overseas list was also Captain Raymond ‘Jerry’ Roberts, 92, one of the four founder members of Bletchley Park’s Testery section, tasked with breaking the German top-level code during the Second World War.

An MBE also goes to Penelope Clough, 53, who set up the Justice For Jane Campaign with husband John after her daughter was murdered by her ex-partner in 2010 while he was on bail.

Sport makes up about 10 per cent of this year’s awards, education 10 per cent, health 7 per cent, and industry and the economy make up 12 per cent.

A Cabinet Office spokesman said an unprecedented number of people from the sporting world had received honours.

He said: ‘As we’ve seen with the special list for Olympians and Paralympians, there is a desire to continue to expand the honours system and make sure we’re extending the reach.’ 

Northern star: Tennis champion Andy Murray enjoyed his most successful ever year as a tennis player winning both Olympic gold and the U.S. Open

Golden girl: Swimmer Ellie Simmonds has been awarded an OBE, making the list despite being only 18-years-old

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2254424/New-Year-honours-list-127-Olympians-led-Bradley-Wiggins.html#ixzz2GR3Ki85v
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2012's celeb autobiographies were the vainest ever

Me, me, me memoirs! From 'revelations' about fridge magnets to toe-curling sexual confessions. JAN MOIR says 2012's celeb autobiographies were the vainest ever 

By JAN MOIR

PUBLISHED: 02:06, 24 December 2012 | UPDATED: 02:15, 24 December 2012

Me, me, me! It’s all about me! Yes, the 2012 crop of autobiographies by our favourite stars reaches new heights of sustained celebrity navel-gazing.

Egged on by the delicious thought that we are desperate for every detail about their marvellous lives, our heroes and heroines thunder on (and on and on) about every aspect of their being, from their favourite fridge magnet to their latest gastrointestinal upsets.  

As always, they need you to know how awkward and uncertain their teens were. They want to present their side of that messy divorce or band split or scandal. 

What not to read: From Tulisa's Honest - My Story So Far to Cheryl Cole's My Story, Jan Moir gives her verdict on the biggest celebrity autobiographies of the year 

On every page, they are desperate to be loved, frantic to be adored, keen for you to buy their product. 

So they spill. They share. They dish. And above all else, they want you to see the Real Me.

HONEST — My Story So Far by Tulisa (Headline £20)

Tulisa sure ain’t had it easy. She was taunted about her mother’s mental illness when she was five (‘Your mum’s a loony’). Then her parents’ marriage ended when she was nine. 

That Christmas, Tulisa stayed with her father and remembers his new girlfriend walking around ‘in a coat belonging to my mum, which she had taken out of the wardrobe’. A poignant and telling detail a little girl never forgot.

Tulisa’s adolescence is hair-raising, particularly when she is allowed to remove herself from a strict North London school into a wilder one attended by her cousin, Dappy. She gets into fights  and seems to relish them slightly more than  she should (‘I matched her punch for punch’). 

Then she stops going to school for a year and carries a piece of wooden curtain rail with her as a weapon. By 13 her world is fuelled by alcohol, drugs, sex and violence. She suffers from dermatillomania (picking her face until it bleeds) and self-harms by cutting. She is sexually assaulted after a ‘friend’ spikes her drink. Her life is like ‘an episode of EastEnders’.  

At another new school, however, she cheers up by challenging the tough girls on her first day.  She joins a bag-snatching gang (‘they called me Whitey, they respected me’) and adds: ‘I never said I was an angel.’

She finds redemption of a sort when she, Dappy and her boyfriend Fazer form a hip-hop group and find fame, fortune and the X Factor. Phew! 

Wisdom gained: ‘I really believe that parents need to show a firm hand when it’s necessary. I also think that schools should be stricter and that teachers should have the power to discipline kids when they misbehave.’

We didn’t need to know that: ‘I’m not into casual sex any more, so when I’m not in a  relationship my sex toy comes in very handy, thank you!’ 

IS IT JUST ME? by Miranda Hart (Hodder & Stoughton, £20)

She begins by writing; ‘My dear reader chum, a very hearty hello to you.’ She ends by writing: ‘Life, eh?’ 

The pages in between are like being trapped in a lift with a babbling madwoman. 

Very soon, dear reader, chums find themselves suffocating in a queasy quagmire of affected kook.  

For example: ‘Now it seems that this chapter endeth, which means it’s time for me to finish the jelly, bung on the Billy Joel and have a little dance. 

'Who says we can’t be free like kids from time to time?’

How fascinating: ‘My fridge magnet is currently a small plastic broccoli floret.’ 

The real me: ‘There is no more interesting relationship than that between a woman and her dog.’

WHO I AM by Pete Townshend (HarperCollins £20)

A sad book about a sad man. Townshend may have been explosive on stage, but now he is a millpond of meek; just another rich guy who likes to sail his boat and hang out with his pretty girlfriend.

He seems to take a great deal of credit for The Who’s success and his dreary and laboriously explained high concept projects tell their own story of brooding introspection.

His account of being cautioned by police for using a credit card to access images of child sex abuse appear solid enough; Townshend had been obsessed with solving the mystery of abuse in his own childhood.

Incredible fact: In 1981 he went to the opening night of the musical Cats, where Bonnie Langford, the star, ‘gave me a knowing wink as she meowed and pranced up and down the aisle’.

Thanks for sharing: ‘We stayed in Paris for a couple of days. John Entwistle and his entourage were in town, so I threw a dinner for 20 people. Then we went to a club to drink and eat, where I vomited into a champagne bucket.’

MY TIME by Bradley Wiggins (Yellow Jersey Press, £20)

A gritty glimpse into what it takes to be the No. 1 cyclist in the world, written by a man who dreamed of wearing the maillot jaune (the Tour de France leader’s yellow jersey to you and me) since he was 12.

Amid a blizzard of sporting cliché, we discover that Wiggo was facing the abyss in 2010. His attempt to conquer the Tour de France had ended in humiliation, then the grandfather who had brought him up died. How he dragged himself back to win the Tour and Olympic glory is at the core of this book. 

‘It was only in 2011 that I completely understood how much you need to work to get to the very top, what hard training is, and how much of a lifestyle change is involved.’

It is a life of extremes. He lives with wife Cath and their two young children in a house without sugar, bread, biscuits and fizzy drinks. He is always washing his hands, to avoid germs and illnesses that might disrupt his training. Dedicated to his sport, he gets ******* angry at the doping antics of others. 

The Real Me: ‘At the end of the day, I’m a shy bloke looking forward to taking my son rugby training after the tour.’

Romance: ‘Cath has seen me though the good times, the bad times, the ups and the downs and the great times.’

We Didn’t Need To Know That: ‘But after that trip to the North-East, I got ill with diarrhoea for two days.’ 

ROD THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY by Rod Stewart (Century, £20)

A terrific book and a great read. 

From humble beginnings in North London, Stewart became a much-married huge star. 

He has lived a life, he doesn’t take himself too seriously, he has the luxury of hindsight and a kind of Rod-ish wisdom. 

He can be puerile but is often hilarious.

It’s all about the blow-dry.

‘My hair announces my presence and my availability for work as effectively as the light on the top of a taxi cab.’

Romance is not dead: ‘In the eight years that I was with Rachel, I was entirely faithful to her. 

'Very early on in the relationship, I told the Press: “I’ve put my last banana in the fruit bowl.” ’

UNBELIEVABLE by Jessica Ennis (Hodder & Stoughton, £20)

A rush job, and it shows. From a mixed-race family, Jess was weaned in Leeds on liquidised tripe and milk. She wore clothes from charity shops. She was bullied at school, some of it a bit racist, she still feels the wounds. 

At athletics camp in 1996, coaches spotted something in her. She was ‘smitten’ with athletics, but the turning point came when she was 16 and ‘crashed out’ after drinking too much at a friend’s party. She threw up next day en route to a competition.

‘I had to choose between athletics and a normal, teenage, party-going lifestyle. It was the day I decided  that the sacrifice was worth it.’ This leads her to the moment she is on the blocks at the 2012 Olympics, asking herself: ‘Will I capture the moment, or let it slip?’ Curiously passionless.  It could be about a Dalek. 

Wisdom gained: ‘You need to work and work, on the track and in the gym and up your own heartbreak hill.’

The real me: ‘I always believed. And when you do that, life can get unbelievable.’

MY ANIMALS AND OTHER FAMILY by Clare Balding (Viking, £20)

A jolly read from Balding, whose superb hosting of the Olympics and Paralympics has turbocharged her popularity. 

This only deals with her life up until she’s 20, with chapters centred on a dog or a horse she has loved.  

She is an outsider, she is sports mad, she dates boys, but she returns them ‘like library books’ and decides she’s been ‘looking in the wrong part of the library’.

Deftly does what an autobiography is supposed to do — increase our understanding and admiration for the subject. 

Parents can be awful: ‘Do you love me more, now I’m thin?’ she asks her father, after losing weight. 

‘Yes, I think I do,’ he replies.

CAMP DAVID by David Walliams (Michael Joseph, £18)

David dishes like no one else, but sometimes you rather wish he wouldn’t. 

He confesses to suicidal self-loathing, to sex addiction, to wanting to be loved by everyone. 

He notes that working with Matt Lucas can be difficult — I do wonder what Matt says about him? 

Walliams has a curious need to appear vulnerable; perhaps he thinks this makes him more lovable? 

He’s a nice writer, but there is a gloating undertow to his claims about the notches on his bedpost. 

Even Rod Stewart doesn’t do that. 

Thanks for Sharing: ‘She gradually removed her hands to reveal the most beautiful breasts I had ever seen.’

BETWEEN THE LINES by Victoria Pendleton (HarperSport, £20)

Pendleton grew to hate cycling, which makes this book a rather depressing read. 

She is emotional, she is bitter, she sticks a pair of nail scissors into her arm when she is unhappy. 

Elsewhere she obsesses about a perceived lack of support within Team GB, she writes screeds of complaining letters which remain unsent, she tries to retire in 2010 but is persuaded to stay on. 

She gets her second gold, but she is still not happy. 

After reading this, you wonder if she ever will be.

The real me: ‘I felt in need of some glitz. 

'It made up for being shunned and shamed by a few angry cycling coaches.’

MY STORY by Cheryl Cole (HarperCollins, £20)

Oh, what a tiny, primped, glossy ball of Geordie aggression! 

While our Cheryl glosses over any friction between Girls Aloud members, she writes a lot about fighting in her early life when things were hard; a brother was sent to prison, another taught her how to fight by punching cushions. 

She takes the opportunity to demolish the two men in her life who have crossed her: ex-husband Ashley Cole and Simon Cowell.  

Neither escapes lightly and Cheryl emerges as a humourless plotter determined to make it big. 

Atta girl: ‘I knew for a fact I was going to make my living by performing. 

'Nothing and nobody was going to stand in my way.’  

IT'S ALL NEWS TO ME by Jeremy Vine (Simon & Shuster, £18.99)

Hilarious, self-deprecating and moving, this chronicles his 25 years at the BBC. 

In the early radio days, he  portrays himself as cocky, self-obsessed and over-ambitious.  

Vine is so desperate to get the war story and make his name, he’s nearly killed driving through a potato field near Vukovar. 

When he has a nosebleed later, he can’t stop looking at himself in the mirror. 

He feels he is a real war reporter at last — he has shed blood. 

A terrific read about obsessive youthful aspirations. Peter Mandelson once said of him: ‘You’re the only person in Britain who wants to be on television more than I do.’

Wisdom gained: ‘So we have landed on the first prayer of broadcasting: Lord, where there is no humility, may you grant humiliation.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2252709/Me-me-memoirs-From-revelations-fridge-magnets-toe-curling-sexual-confessions-JAN-MOIR-says-2012s-celeb-autobiographies-vainest-ever.html#ixzz2FxtnLbY3
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Cyclist Bradley Wiggins crowned Sports Personality of the Year, Jessica Ennis in second, Andy Murray third

Cyclist Bradley Wiggins crowned Sports Personality of the Year after historic victory in Tour de France and stunning Olympic gold

• Wiggins presented award by Duchess of Cambridge in her first public appearance since falling ill
  
• Heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis in second, tennis star Andy Murray third
• London 2012 chairman Lord Sebastian Coe wins Lifetime Achievement award 
• Swimmer Josef Craig, 15, crowned Young Sports Personality of the Year
• Won London 2012 gold after smashing world record in 400m freestyle S7
• Martine Wright wins Helen Rollason Award for 'achievement in adversity'
• Lost both legs in 7/7 bombings, but went on to compete in sitting volleyball

By SIMON TOMLINSON

PUBLISHED: 18:00, 16 December 2012 | UPDATED: 23:46, 16 December 2012

Cyclist Bradley Wiggins was crowned Sports Personality of the Year tonight in recognition of his historic triumph in the Tour de France and stunning gold in the Olympics time trial.

The 32-year-old was presented the award at a star-studded ceremony by the Duchess of Cambridge who made her first public appearance since falling ill with severe morning sickness.

Olympic heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis was runner-up while U.S. tennis champion and London 2012 gold medallist Andy Murray came third in the public vote.

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An extraordinary 2012: Bradley Wiggins kisses his trophy after being named Sports Personality of the Year in recognition of his victories in the Tour de France and Olympics time trial

In good company: Wiggins accepts his award from the duchess in front of an audience of sports stars and celebrities at the London ExCeL centre

Thanked those who voted for him: The 32-year-old delivers his winner's speech as a smiling duchess looks on

By Royal appointment: The award was announced by England footballer David Beckham (left) before being handed to him by the duchess

VIDEO: Wiggins wins again: Hero Bradley receives his award from Kate... 

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The duchess also handed the Lifetime Achievement Award to London 2012 chairman Lord Coe.

The prize recognises his remarkable career as an athlete and his huge contribution to sport in the UK, including the vital role he played in the success of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Lord Coe became chairman of the board for the London 2012 bid team in 2004 and was pivotal in transforming the city's campaign to host the Games, it said.

His final speech that secured London as the hosts is remembered as a truly inspirational moment, focusing on the need to engage young people in sport to create the next generation of champions.

Olympics poster girl: The Duchess with runner-up Jessica Ennis, who was recognised for her gold-winning performance in the heptathlon at London 2012

Smashing: Third-placed Andy Murray seen on videolink accepting his award from boxer Lennox Lewis (left) in recognition of his U.S. open win and Olympic gold medal

Legend: The duchess also presented London 2012 chairman Lord Coe with the Lifetime Achievement Award

Keen to pay tribute to nation's sportsmen and women: The Duchess of Cambridge chats to Ennis backstage after the ceremony

Britain's top sport stars gathered to celebrate their greatest-ever year at the Excel Arena in London.

Olympic and Paralympic heroes dominated this year's shortlist, with golfer Rory McIlroy the only one of the 12 nominees not to have won medals at London 2012 this summer.

Cyclist Bradley Wiggins, who was announced the winner by David Beckham, was the bookmakers' odds-on favourite after his historic triumph in the Tour de France and gold in the Olympics time trial, followed by heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis.

Mo Farah, double gold medallist in the 5,000 metres and 10,000m, had been ranked third-favourite with the bookies.

King of the track: Double gold medallist Mo Farah talks to Gary Lineker about his Olympic success in the 5,000m and 10,000m

Making history: Nicola Adams (right) became the first woman to win an Olympic boxing Gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics

Blazing entrance: Four-time Olympic gold medal sailor Ben Ainslie, who is on the award shortlist, walks on stage carrying a flare

Blinding performance: Ainslie took gold in the Olympics, World Cup and World Championships and was also named ISAF World Sailor of the Year

Hopeful: Heptathlon gold medallist Jessica Ennis (right) speaks to presenter Sue Barker on stage about her achievements at London 2012

But he was pipped to the podium by Andy Murray, who became the first British man to win a grand slam singles title for 76 years when he triumphed in the US Open and won an Olympic gold.

The list of nominees had been extended from 10 to 12 this year to reflect the incredible year for British sport.

The first award of the night went to swimmer Josef Craig, 15, who was crowned Young Sports Personality of the Year.

Josef, who has cerebral palsy, was the youngest Paralympic gold medallist at London 2012, after smashing his own world record in the 400m freestyle S7 final.

Getting it underway: Presenters (l-r) Clare Balding, Gary Lineker and Sue Barker host the awards ceremony

Prince of the pool: Swimmer Josef Craig (second left) is named young Sports Personality of the Year after becoming the youngest Paralympic gold medallist at London 2012

Swimming star: Clare Balding (left) chats with Ellie Simmonds, who is on the shortlist after winning two Paralympic golds, one silver and a bronze in the pool

'I would just like say big thanks to everyone involved in me getting my gold,' the South Shields teenager said.

'It was a big shock for me. I don't expect it at all. That was just an amazing part of my life.'

Martine Wright, who lost her legs in the London bombings on July 7, 2005, and competed in the sitting volleyball at the 2012 Paralympics, won the Helen Rollason Award.

This is presented in memory of the BBC presenter who died in 1999 at the age of 43 after suffering from cancer, and is given for outstanding achievement in the face of adversity.

Wright said: 'I am absolutely honoured to be here. I count myself lucky to have survived that awful day, and that I’ve made an incredible journey, the last seven years.'

Celebrating achievements: Katherine Grainger (centre left) on stage with Clare Balding (centre right) and the Team GB Rowers during the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards

Poignant: Martine Wright (centre), winner of the Helen Rollason award for 'outstanding achievement in the face of adversity, with PC Elizabeth Kenworthy MBE who saved her life in the July 7 bombings

Treasured memories: Gary Lineker (right) talks to Manchester City stars Sergio Aguero (left) and Vincent Kompany about the club's Premier League triumph, which was won with virtually the last kick of the season

In contention: Rower Katherine Grainger, who won gold in the double sculls, on stage with Clare Balding

Multiple champion: Track cyclist Sarah Storey (left), who won four golds at the 2012 Paralympic Games, recalls her success with Sue Barker

She thanked the emergency services and medical staff who did so much. 'And I will never forget the 52 people that sadly lost their lives, so this is definitely for them as well.'

Odds on Ennis taking the award had been slashed from 9/1 to 4/1 in the 48 hours before the ceremony, putting her close behind Wiggins, who was odds-on to win.

Speaking before the ceremony, William Hill spokesman Rupert Adams said: 'There is no doubt that momentum has swung away from Bradley and Jess is steaming up on the outside. The only question is has she left her run too late?'

In the running: Olympic heptathlon gold medallist Jessica Ennis arrives for the Sports Personality of the year awards hoping to claim another victory

Second favourite: Bookmakers have taken a late flurry of bets on Ennis (pictured with her fiance Andy Hill) taking the title

Black and gold: Cyclist Victoria Pendleton took the keirin title and won silver in the sprint at London 2012

Girl power: Pendleton was joined at the ceremony by Jade Jones (right) who won gold in the taekwondo 

David Weir, the wheelchair athlete who won four golds in London, and four-time Paralympic swimming champion Ellie Simmonds had led the Paralympians with the bookies.

The strength of competition meant the only two British women to win double gold medals at the Olympics - cyclist Laura Trott and dressage rider Charlotte Dujardin - did not make the shortlist.

Fellow Olympians Greg Rutherford, Victoria Pendleton, and Alistair Brownlee, along with Europe's Ryder Cup hero Ian Poulter, also missed out.

Doing the Mobot! Double Olympic gold medal distance runner Mo Farah strikes his trademark pose with wife Tania and step-daughter Rihanna

Red carpet treatment: Presenter Helen Skelton (left), England rugby captain Chris Robshaw and his girlfriend Camilla Kerslake (right) arrive for the Sports Personality of the Year Awards at London's ExCeL arena

The nominees were chosen by an expert panel including national newspaper sports editors and three former award nominees, Sir Steve Redgrave, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson and Denise Lewis.

The panel also selected the winners of the coach of the year, team of the year and overseas personality.

It was announced earlier in the day that the Duchess of Cambridge would be attending the event in the first sign that she is slowly recovering from the acute sickness that has plagued her first few weeks of pregnancy.

Golden girls: Former heptathlon champion Denise Lewis (left), who has twice been runner-up in the Sports Personality of the Year awards, and Amy Williams, who won gold in the skeleton at the 2010 Winter Olympics

Ready for a great night: Former Olympic swimmer-turned-commentator Karen Pickering

All smiles: Weightlifter Zoe Smith (left), who broke the British clean and jerk record at London 2012, and 1972 pentathlon gold medallist Dame Mary Peters (right)

Proud: Paralympian Hannah Cockroft poses with the gold medals she won in the T34 100m and 200m in London

Anticipation: Marathon runner Paula Radcliffe (left), who was forced to pull out of London 2012 with a foot injury, smiles for the cameras, while Bronze medal gymnast Beth Tweddle arrives with boyfriend Steven Cryer (right)

She was only at the event for around 45 minutes, but sources have told MailOnline she was keen to pay tribute to the nation's sportsmen and women in what has been an incredible year. 

Husband Prince William was not able to attend as he is back at work as an RAF search and rescue pilot on Anglesey.

A St James's Palace spokesman said: 'The Duchess of Cambridge will tonight attend the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year Awards at the ExCeL London, where Her Royal Highness will present the Lifetime Achievement and the main Sports Personality of the Year Awards.

Athlete Christine Ohuruogu (left), who won silver in the 400m and swimmer Rebecca Adlington, who claimed two bronze medals in the 400m and 800m

Cyclist Joanna Rowsell (left), who won gold in the team pursuit at London 2012, and rower Katherine Grainger (right), who has made it onto the shortlist after winning gold in the double sculls

Queen of the pool: Ellie Simmonds won two golds, a silver and bronze at the 2012 Paralympics

Diving bronze medallist Tom Daley (left) and ice skater Jane Torvill, who won gold at the 1984 Winter Olympics

On the shortlist: Sailor Ben Ainslie (left) has a chance of taking the title after winning his fourth Olympic gold medal in London, while former cricket umpire Dickie Bird (right) strikes a familiar pose

'The Duchess will attend the event in response to a longstanding invitation from the BBC.‪‪'

Along with her husband and brother in law Prince Harry, Kate was a Team GB Ambassador at the Olympics this summer.

The main award will be chosen by public vote and announced at the Sports Personality of the Year show.

Shortlist (in alphabetical order): Nicola Adams (Olympic boxing), Ben Ainslie (Olympic sailing), Jessica Ennis (Olympic heptathlon), Mo Farah (Olympic 5,000m and 10,000m), Katherine Grainger (Olympic rowing), Sir Chris Hoy (Olympic cycling), Rory McIlroy (world number one golfer and USPGA champion), (Andy Murray, Olympic tennis and US Open champion), Ellie Simmonds (Paralympic swimming), Sarah Storey (Paralympic cycling), David Weir (Paralympic wheelchair athlete), Bradley Wiggins (Olympic cycling and Tour de France winner).

The ceremony was shown live on BBC1 from 7.30pm.

THE SHORTLIST... AND WHAT THEY WON IN 2012

Nicola Adams - Olympic gold winner and placed second at the World Championships

Ben Ainslie - Took gold in the Olympics, World Cup and World Championships. Also named ISAF World Sailor of the Year

Jessica Ennis - Silver at the World Indoor Championships, gold in the Olympic heptathlon

Mo Farah - Double Olympic gold medal winner

Katherine Grainger - gold medal in the Olympic double sculls, as well as winning all three World Cups

Sir Chris Hoy - Gold in the World Cup, World Championships and the London Games

Rory McIlroy - Both money list titles, Honda Classic, PGA Championship, Deutsche Bank Championship, DP World Tour Championship, Ryder Cup

Andy Murray - Finally bagged his first Slam, the US Open, as well as Olympic gold and a silver in the doubles.

Ellie Simmonds - Double Paralympic gold, as well as a silver and a bronze

Sarah Storey - quadruple gold at the 2012 Paralympics and a double gold at the UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championships

David Weir - Four Paralympic gold medals and a gold in the European Athletics Championships

Bradley Wiggins - Tour de France champion and Olympic road race winner

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2249050/Sports-Personality-Year-Stars-arrive-awards-bookies-late-flurry-bets-Olympic-heptathlon-gold-medallist-Jessica-Ennis-taking-title.html#ixzz2FGVjNePb
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