CHARLES SALE - SPORTS AGENDA: Two of the top six in the betting for the BBC SPOTY award were remarkably on the short-list for a similar prize at a Sheffield secondary school 12 years ago.

Jessica Ennis-Hill took the top award at the Sportswomen of the Year ceremony on Friday. The Olympic champion returned from giving birth to her first child to land World Championship gold.

Taking the top prize at the Sportswomen of the Year 2015 ceremony on Friday, the Olympic heptathlon champion capped off a sensational year when she beat off the competition yet again.

Jessica Ennis-Hill's coach has told Sebastian Coe to immediately start drawing up a list of medals that should be taken from drug cheats and handed to the athletes they robbed.

With under a month until the BBC hand out one of the most coveted individual trophies in British sport, several of our top stars took their chance to put forward their names last weekend.

The London 2012 Olympic champion laughed off suggestions that the controversy would take the shine off her inclusion in the 12-strong shortlist for the awards night in Belfast on December 20.

INTERVIEW BY MARTHA KELNER: Jessica Ennis-Hill accepts that, through no fault of her own, some people might be deterred from voting for her because of the doping crisis engulfing athletics.

Andy Murray has picked up his second Sports Personality of the Year title after a successful year which saw him finish as world No 2 and help Great Britain to Davis Cup success in Belgium.

The 26-year-old swimmer looked sensational in a plunging lace gown which flaunted her trim figure while track and field athlete Jessica, 29, went for a flirty prom-style frock

MATT LAWTON: Fortunately for the BBC, the public were rather more impressed with tennis ace Andy Murray than the sports personality of the year was with Tyson Fury.

Jessica Ennis-Hill is to miss the indoor athletics season after suffering an achilles injury while training. The reigning Olympic heptathlon champion has not put a timescale on her recovery.

With 100 days to go until the opening ceremony in Rio, Britain's world and Olympic heptathlon champion said on Tuesday she already felt 2016 would be unlike any other year for her.

The virus, linked to cases of the microcephaly birth defect, has spread in Latin America and the Caribbean, leading athletes to consider whether to attend the Games.

The 30-year-old is set to look the part when she defends her heptathlon crown in Rio this summer after picking up her Team GB kit for Brazil at an event in Birmingham on Tuesday.

Track and field icon Jessica Ennis-Hill, who won heptathlon gold for Great Britain at the London 2012 Olympics, has retired from athletics. The 30-year-old had hinted at retirement after Rio 2016.

Experts predicted Ennis-Hill could earn at least double that after she called time on a stellar career that finished with Olympic silver in Rio, just two years on from having her first child, Reggie.

Jessica Ennis-Hill is set to be awarded her second World Championship heptathlon gold medal after the Court of Arbitration for Sport announced Russian athlete Tatyana Chernova will be stripped of her title.

It was Reggie's bath time when Ennis-Hill found out she would finally be awarded the 2011 world championship heptathlon title which was stolen from her by a Russian drugs cheat.

Two of Great Britain's greatest track and field athletes, Mo Farah and Jessica Ennis-Hill, lead the list of sporting stars to be acknowledged in the New Year Honours.

Jessica Ennis-Hill was an absolute vision as she received a CBE by the Duke of Cambridge at London's Buckingham Palace on Wednesday.

In Finland they put her work on postage stamps, but if you haven't heard of Helene Schjerfbeck, don't worry.

Traditional Sunday worship might be in decline but the number of people going to church regularly, worshipping where and when they choose, is rising

Towards the end of this slightly jumbled but always engaging book comes a sentence so striking that it should have been placed at the beginning: 'I was ten years old when I found my first human bone.'

Moncks comes from the folk behind nearby Park Chinois, that rather fabulous folly of Cantonese deluxe. But here the kitchen struggles to match the splendour of the decor

Reused ingredients, recycled tools… these brands are leading the way

This year marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of two outstanding composers of operettas, Franz von Suppé and Jacques Offenbach, though you could be forgiven for not noticing.

She's the internet's resident gynaecologist who deals in straight-talk, hard facts and medical science. So profiteering gurus who peddle myths and misinformation make her want to scream

Isabel Vincent's marriage was falling apart. Her elderly neighbour was grief-stricken. Little did they know that a supper invitation would heal them both

Believe it or not, it's a thing. But 'mermaiding' runs far deeper than simply dressing up in a silicone tail. So what's the big pull?

Kings Of Leon, Rudimental and Little Mix headline the Liverpool festival in Sefton Park. Franz Ferdinand, Dizzee Rascal and Anne-Marie provide support. Fri-Sun

Bagpipes, tartan, thistles and lochs - such things are the basis of Scotland's tourist industry. And, to some extent, Scotland's national identity too.

Historic Royal Palaces has argued that the project will block protected views of the tower which is part of a system introduced in 1938 to also guard views of St Paul's vistas and the Palace of Westminster.

Single parent Beverley Cohen, 55, from Brighton, pictured with her seriously disabled daughter Liora, left, has felt abandoned by the care system since the start of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Consultant anaesthetist Dr Paul Trafford, pictured with his wife and nieces, almost suffered a major heart attack after returning to his home in Glasgow following a shift in his hospital due to an undiagnosed issue.

Tony Cooke's eyes were drawn to a photograph of a group of women in pinafores hailing the end of war, conveying the relief, pride and exultant joy of VE Day.

This newspaper revealed last week how hackers linked to Russia and Iran were behind 'utterly reprehensible' hits on British institutions.

Kirstin Coutney, pictured with her daughter Tilly, contracted Covid-19.  The 49-year-old mother of two from Bath is still suffering crippling fatigue, six weeks after developing the virus.

Deeply worried about Beijing's insatiable desire for land and the way its military has occupied areas by stealth, Washington has sent three warships to the region.

I worry about my brother Tom. He has Fragile X, the most common cause of inherited learning disability. He can't write, read or understand money. He refers to Covid-19 as 'this bloody flu virus'.

The London Metropolitan Police constable could become one of the UK's first officers to face misconduct proceedings over his use of the controversial video-sharing app.

It's the wholesome morning TV show enjoyed by millions for its gentle take on the day's news. But it seems that all is not so cosy behind the scenes at BBC Breakfast.

Chief executive Craig Hassal said the 2m social distancing rules would force the London venue to cut its capacity to just 30 per cent and close its bars and restaurants, adding the situation is 'desperate'.

Crooks can buy usernames, passwords and other data to break into private online meetings and steal sensitive information from banks, financial firms and even universities.

Marie Stopes International (MSI) has received more than £7.5million from sex-toy salesman Phil Harvey, critics have now accused the charity of betraying its stated aims.

Respected breeders will perform DNA screening but potential owners could be duped into buying unhealthy pets from unscrupulous puppy farms abroad.

The worst may now be over, but as one frontline doctor reveals in her latest diary, traumatised medics now have time to reflect on the life-and-death decisions taken in the heat of battle… 

Ministers believe 'The Blob' - an army made up of political opponents and union barons - is colluding to politicise the coronavirus outbreak, The Mail on Sunday has learned.

Britain's spooks are showing distressing signs of wokeness. At a party, a senior British security official left reporters speechless with his self-flagellating concern about social injustice.

The group of senior Ministers and security officials was due to meet on Thursday but did not, meaning a full NSC meeting has not been convened since February.

Jeremy Corbyn's backers claim the new Labour Party leader wants to review his predecessor's £7.2 billion pledge, despite promising to honour it during the recent leadership contest.