Andy Murray moves up to second favourite for Sports Personality of the Year award as BBC extends shortlist The longer list should ensure that all the Olympic and Paralympic multiple medallists are recognised as being in contention, along with non-Olympic winners such as McIlroy. That list will then be whittled down to a final field of contenders by an expert panel. The shortlist of candidates, which is not certain to be the traditional 10, will then be put to a public vote during the programme, which will be staged in front of an audience of more than 15,000 people at the Excel Arena on Dec 16. The shortlisting process proved controversial last year, when not a single woman received enough votes to make the list of 10. This process is designed to prevent a repeat, as well as to recognise the extraordinary achievements of this year. The expert panel will add rigour and provide the BBC with a safety net so that it is not embarrassed again in the most high-profile year for its flagship sports programme. Any suggestion of a separate award for female athletes has been rejected, and with contenders such as Jessica Ennis, double-gold medallists Laura Trott and Charlotte Dujardin, boxer Nicola Adams and cyclist Victoria Pendleton among the stars of the summer, there is no chance of an all-male list. The format of other awards such as Team of the Year and Coach of the Year may also be tweaked, and London 2012 chairman Lord Coe appears certain to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award. The competitiveness of the main award is demonstrated by the odds offered for some of the stars of 2012. Sir Chris Hoy, who won two gold medals to surpass Sir Steve Redgrave as Britain's most decorated Olympian, was available at 100-1 with bookmakers on Tuesday. Ben Ainslie, who won his fourth gold medal and became the first Briton to win individual medals at five consecutive Games, was a 200-1 shot. The format of the programme is also likely to change to reflect the unprecedented events of the last nine months. In recent years the programme has focused on the stories of the 10 candidates, but it is understood the programme will be closer to its original "review of the year format," reflecting the unprecedented number of stories thrown up by London 2012. A BBC spokesman confirmed that there would be changes for 2012, but stressed it would be a case of "evolution rather than revolution."