It's Sports Personality of the Year night! I'm sort-of live-blogging this - sort-of in the sense that it'll be published after the night's over. Let's see what prominence female athletes get ...

The opening montage wasn't hopeful, with only a few women featured, including of course Jessica Ennis-Hill and amazingly a brief glimpse of Helen Glover and Heather Stanning. I'm still hopeful Ennis-Hill might take the title, but Andy Murray was favourite last time I looked at the odds.

Winter
Lizzie Yarnold! A lady whose name I missed who I didn't recognise ... Serena Williams! Jordanne Whiley! Sarah Storey! Oh, that's it.

But now we're on to Lucy Bronze and the England women's football team, introduced by David Beckham and a rather sweet note that his daughter "wants a different B on her back". The team on stage are looking glam but one rather suspects that her nomination is a sop to giving another team Team of the Year - if it's anyone except the women's pair I shall be annoyed.

Oooh look, they're objectifying Adam Peaty and his abs! Nice to see a swimmer on the shortlist though.

More women glimpsed briefly, but not much said about them.

It must be said that what gymnasts can do is pretty phenomenal. Even if they are asked to pretend a piano is a pommel horse.

Young SPOTY
Quite a few girls on this list, which is great, including weightlifter Rebekah Tiler. Good to see a sport which many see as non-feminine there, although of course it's one where we have history with Zoe Smith very successful. And the winner is a girl! Ellie Downie, following her teammate Max Whitlock on to the stage and last year's YSPOTY winner Claudia Fragapane. She's surprisingly tall for a gymnast and a bit tongue-tied but gracious. Now, wouldn't it be lovely if the SPOTY prize proper also went to a woman?

On to Ennis-Hill, showing that having a baby doesn't stop you. (Will they nominate Anna Watkins if she makes it to Rio? Also, did they set off the winners' fireworks early?)

Spring
The women's boat race! Paula Radcliffe bowing out. Serena Williams, again. Apparently no other women did any sport in the spring.

Lewis Hamilton, not doing much sport but quite a lot of posing and mechanics mending his car for him. (In a blog at some point soon: why can't women be F1 drivers?)

Helen Rollason Award
This is often the nicest award of the night. But what is a pop star doing presenting it? The award is going to little Bailey Matthews, the Yorkshire lad who completed a triathlon, and who personifies guts and determination. A lovely story. Everyone is cheering and rightly so. I might have a tear in my eye.

A pause now while we focus on men's rugby league and men's cricket. Sigh.

Lizzie Armitstead's turn to be spotlighted. She's a superb athlete and well deserves her place on the shortlist. Also, she's a Yorkshire lass so extra points for that. :)

Summer
Heather Watson being beaten by Serena (her again). Jordanne Whiley again. Women's golf. Netball bronze and the women's Ashes. Women's football. Charlotte Dujardin and Sophie Christensen in equestrianism. Women's hockey. Lots of women's sport in summer. No rowing though ...

Lifetime Achievement
Did you know Martina Navratilova is the only woman to have won Lifetime Achievement thus far? And six footballers have won it (out of 16 recipients). Hmmmm.

Mo Farah - he wants his son to play football. I hope he wants his daughters to be athletes too.

Oh, now we're on to the controversial Tyson Fury. It'll be interesting to see how the audience greet him ... they are cheering rather than booing. His interview is, well, pretty boring.

Murray, and John McEnroe saying he's unbeatable, which is clearly rubbish because he's been beaten quite a lot this year. He's a brilliant player but he's not unbeatable. Smile, Andy! No really, smile.

Voting is open ... I am voting for Ennis-Hill. I think she deserves it, and she's got the most chance out of this year's female nominees.

Rugby, and a totally OTT sequence featuring Ian McElhinney and the Game of Thrones soundtrack, to introduce Dan Carter as Overseas SPOTY. I long for the day when rowing, or a women's sport, gets this treatment.

Autumn
Ooh, look, ROWING! The women's pair! Shelley Woods winning the Great North Run. Serena. Again ... Women's golf. Overall, in the seasonal roundups, I'd estimate women accounted for about a quarter of the mentions.

Unsung Hero
The other really nice award of the night. Eddie Izzard wanting everyone to Tweet a #BigThankYou to an unsung hero in sport. Mine goes to the unique Pauline Rayner, who has given so much to women's rowing and to our club over so many years. Basically, she rocks.

Back to football. So the women finishing third at the World Cup got rolled into Lucy Bronze's nomination VT, but the men's travails qualifying for the European Champs gets a whole special piece presented by a famous actor? headdesk

Coach of the Year
Three female contenders. The prize goes to a male coach of a male team. Who talks for what seems like hours.

Team of the Year
This is so going to be the Davis Cup, isn't it? Contenders include the England women's football team, the women's hockey team, HELEN AND HEATHER and the netball team. Actually quite good female representation, but yes, the Davis Cup team take it. How predictable. I thought their win was superb, but it's no more historic than, say, the women's football team's third placing, and no less a team effort. I feel the W2- will never truly get the recognition they deserve in the wider world.

SPOTY
3rd place to ... Ennis-Hill. This, I think, means a man has won it. I'm now hoping sincerely that Murray trumps Fury.
2nd place to ... Kevin Sinfield. Wow, that's unexpected! I don't know much about rugby league but he seemed like a decent bloke.
And the winner is ... Andy Murray. Quelle surprise. He is a great sportsman and I admire his constant grit and performance under pressure. But I did want a woman to win it. Next year, maybe?

Overall
As I guessed there wasn't really that much coverage of female sport, barely a mention of my sport, far too much football and a lot of puff. Your standard SPOTY night then, I guess. BBC, you still have some work to do. But let's hope at least a couple of girls will have been inspired by Ennis-Hill, or Ellie Downie, or Lucy Bronze or Lizzie Armitstead, and will be getting bikes or trainers or footballs for Christmas.