What a relief to see Joe Calzaghe winning this year’s sports personality tonight. As much as I admire the training, dieting and dedication that each of the shortlisted 10 showed in their respective sports, only those that reached the top deserved the chance to win it. Ricky Hatton and Lewis Hamilton were successful in the last year – Hatton stepped up to be one of the greatest British boxers of his generation and Hamilton’s debut season was sensational, but ultimately neither won.

Calzaghe did, and this makes him a worthy winner. Sometimes I wonder if the British are happy with second best, but tonight I am glad to have been proved wrong.