ITV's director of sport Niall Sloane awarded Royal Television Society Fellowship

Niall Sloane, the man who brought horseracing to ITV, will be awarded a Royal Television Society Fellowship for 'outstanding and exceptional contribution to the industry'.

Sloane will be a familiar face to many sports viewers having spent 37 years working in broadcasting at the BBC and ITV, covering nine Football World Cups and working for BBC Grandstand before moving to ITV in 1988.

He edited Match of the Day and later became the head of football and Formula One. In 2009 he took over as Director of Sport for ITV, a role he still fills.

He was awarded a BAFTA for his coverage of the football European Championships in 1996 and, as well as racing, brought the Six Nations Rugby competition to ITV.

Read The Lowdown from 8.30am daily on the Racing Post mobile app with all the day's latest going, weather, market moves and non-runner news