Hollie Doyle 'out of her comfort zone' but ready for Sports Personality stage

There is no battle she would shirk on the back of a horse. But Hollie Doyle admits there is a world of difference between riding winners – something she has done with extraordinary regularity throughout 2020 – and stepping out on to the Sports Personality of the Year stage on Sunday evening in front of a primetime BBC One audience.

The BBC has secured a government-approved quarantine exemption for Doyle – who will be riding in France on Saturday – enabling her to attend in person under the guise of "essential cast and crew" for what the Department for Culture, Media and Sport consider is the "critical service" of broadcasting the 65th edition of Spoty.

Doyle admits the prospect of sharing the limelight with household names such as Lewis Hamilton and Ronnie O'Sullivan is a daunting one – "I'll be pretty nervous" she confides – while the build-up has also been an otherworldly experience.