Sports presenter and ex-tennis pro Sue Barker says she can’t wait to bring one of the most glittering events in the sporting calendar to Salford.

BBC Sports Personality of the Year will be broadcast from MediaCity on December 22 – the first time the programme has come from Salford.

Salford Quays, of course, is the new home of the corporation’s sports department and to mark the move Sue will front the show from the studios. She’ll be presenting alongside former England captain and Match Of The Day host Gary Lineker and Formula One’s Jake Humphrey.

Last year’s winner was champion jockey Tony McCoy, while former England captain David Beckham was given the lifetime achievement award.

Sue told the Diary: "It’s very exciting to be coming to Greater Manchester. I’ve been many times as a player and presenting A Question Of Sport, so I know how much the people of Manchester and Salford are into their sport. I think the studio will be bigger than the one in London, and we have some tickets that are open to the public, so I’m sure it’ll be a fantastic atmosphere."

Blog by BBC Sport editor Carl Doran

Sue has co-hosted the show since 1994. She added: "It means so much to the winners, particularly because it’s the public who decides.

"Last year Tony McCoy was quite nervous about speaking in front of the audience, but he genuinely was delighted that so many people voted for him."

The programme also includes an unsung hero award.

Sue added: "We really want people to nominate their unsung heroes. There are so many that dedicate their time and efforts to helping behind the scenes."

Special achievement awards have been presented only five times in the programme’s history.

Comedian Eddie Izzard was given the award in 2009 for running 43 marathons in 51 days, raising £200,000 for charity; former world champion runner Sebastian Coe was awarded for helping to win Britain’s bid to host next year’s Olympics; and five years ago comedian David Walliams was given the award for raising more than £1m for Sport Relief after swimming 22 miles across the English Channel. The funnyman has recently outdone himself by swimming 140 miles of the River Thames.

As one of Britain’s top tennis players in the 1970s, Sue won international tournaments including the French Open, and was a semi-finalist at Wimbledon.

She remembers playing at the Northern Lawn Tennis Club in West Didsbury, and had a friendly rivalry with another top British player, Anne Hobbs, from Cheadle Hulme.

She also praises Stockport teenager Liam Broady, who won the boys’ doubles at Wimbledon last year.

"The Northern’s a great place, I hope it can produce a future champion. And Liam’s a feisty player so I reckon he’ll go even further."

As well as the awards ceremony, there will be two weeks of events at MediaCity in December, called Celebrate Sport.

To find out more, or to register for tickets, go to www.bbc.co.uk/sportspersonality .

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