Anthony Joshua has it if you can get to him through his platoon of minders. Tyson Fury has rediscovered it, while athletes Mary Peters, Mary Rand, Jessica Ennis, Denise Lewis and Dave Bedford have always had it. Not to mention flamboyant jockey Frankie Dettori. You can add to this list the likes of Daley Thompson, Seb Coe, Malcolm Allison, Brian Clough and Jose Mourinho - when he is on a charm offensive, as he now is at Spurs.

Of course it certainly helped Boris Johnson win the election. We are talking Personality here... with a capital P.

I could go on. But what I do want to go on about is my puzzlement that someone with real personality did not win this year's BBC Sports Personality award. The one whose charisma shone through on the six-strong shortlist was 24-year-old Dina Asher Smith, the new world 200 metres champion and British record-holder who not only oozes personality, but Is as bubbly as a jeroboam of Bollinger.

She is the brightest star to light the British athletics scene for many years - intelligent, sharp-witted and with the poise and beauty of a top model. Dashing Dina seemed a mile - or at least 200 metres - ahead of the other contenders, yet she finished only third behind the cricket all-rounder Ben Stokes in first and ace motor racing driver Lewis Hamilton in second.

I am not knocking the achievements of either - they were tremendous. But this is not a sports person of the year award, it is a sports personality award.

Co-hosts Gary Lineker, Gabby Logan and Clare Balding are themselves in the Premier League of sports personalities. However, Lineker made something of a faux pas early in the programme, introducing Stokes as "the main award winner" instead of "a contender" well before votes were cast. Lineker gulped and eventually corrected himself.

Something of an odd night overall, but carving through all the usual hype, the show was entertaining and well put together - apart from the small boxing sections which were a total mess, focusing on a ridiculous YouTube contest between two rappers, rather than the actual realities of the ring this year

No doubt Stokes got the viewers' vote because of his great accomplishments in cricket's World Cup and the Ashes. A good night for the game, as cricket walked off with three top awards. A happy coincidence for the Beeb as Test matches return to their screens next year.

Maybe the producers missed a trick in not persuading the newly confirmed PM to present the award, but of course he was out celebrating his own astonishing triumph. A pity, because Boris likes a bit of sport.

I am not a political animal myself, but I was rather pleased to see him win so handsomely. I got to know him quite well when he was London Mayor before and during the 2012 Olympic Games. He thoroughly enjoyed himself and clearly has some empathy for those who enjoy fun with their games. 

He may have no detailed knowledge of any particular sport, but has a particular liking for cricket, tennis, rugby and "whiff-whaf", as he famously termed table tennis. He's also a bit of a swordsman, although we are not necessarily talking about fencing here.

As I have mentioned before, when we once chatted about boxing he revealed he did not know the name of any British boxer, but giggled, "I just love watching them biff each other".

My abiding sporting memory of Boris is from the Olympics in Beijing, where he received the flag that was to fly four years later in London. One night, in the darkened and empty Bird's Nest stadium, some of us were still working late in the press box. 

He suddenly emerged from a tunnel, booted and suited, walked to the starting line of the 100 metres, crouched down and set off, hurtling down the track, his coat flapping in the light breeze. He crossed the finishing line with a whoop, fists pumping the air. "I've always wanted to do that" he remarked later. I have little doubt that Boris will put much-needed fun back into sport, as well as politics.

During the London Olympics he had the good sense to recruit the former Labour sports minister Kate Hoey as his sports advisor, and he may well do so again once he is settled in. I’ve already stated that he might make her Britain's first sports ombudsman (or woman). I am told it is something he has in mind.

However, I doubt sport will see any immediate cash windfall from the Government coffers. Boris has other priorities, not least the NHS, and that is understandable.

To be honest, I'd much rather him in the driving seat than Jeremy Corbyn, certainly as far as sport is concerned. Although he professes to be an Arsenal supporter, Corbyn seems something of a sporting snowflake. He has never been seen at any boxing event or a sport where any degree of physicality might be involved.

But we have seen Boris on the rugby field. He's not afraid to get stuck in - an asset which will surely come in useful once he really gets to grips with the likes of President Putin, Kim Jong-un, the Scottish nationalists and, of course, his good buddy Donald Trump. Some interesting times ahead for we Brits.

On a personal note, may I thank all who have got in touch with me via insidethegames, including former British Olympic Association chief executive Simon Clegg, and current chairman and ex-sports minister Sir Hugh Robertson, during my current spell of hospitalisation. Things are progressing well after knee surgery - I hope to be up, if not quite running, very soon.