Winning Moments of 2016

We know, 2016 is probably going to go down in history for being jam-packed with doom and gloom. It's been a mad year, with the loss of many incredible entertainers and extreme political upheaval spreading around the globe.

But it wasn't all bad. In fact, in and amongst the heartache, those 366 days were crammed with some pretty fantastic happenings. Let's take a look at 2016's Top 20 'Winning Moments', as voted for by the nation:

  1. Andy Murray's Wimbledon triumph
  2. Leicester City's Premier League victory
  3. The Queen's 90th birthday milestone
  4. The moment the baby iguana escaped the snakes in BBC's Planet Earth 2
  5. When Alistair Brownlee helped his brother, Jonny, across the Triathlon World Series finishing line (sacrificing his first place position)
  6. Mo Farah making Olympic medal history in Rio
  7. Tim Peake completing his 185-day stint in space
  8. Ed Balls rendering the nation speechless after dancing 'Gangnam Style' on Strictly Come Dancing
  9. Leonardo DiCaprio finally winning that Oscar
  10. Devon pensioner Joe Bartley being offered a job, after putting a desperate advert in the local paper
  11. Ant and Dec finally receiving OBEs
  12. (SPOILER ALERT!) Jon Snow being re-incarnated in Game of Thrones
  13. Emmerdale's Robert Sugden and Aaron Dingle finally getting engaged
  14. Candice Brown winning the Great British Bake Off 2016
  15. England's Rugby Union team remaining unbeaten for the entire year
  16. Edith finally getting her happy ending in Downton Abbey
  17. Adele winning three Brit Awards and being overwhelmed with emotion
  18. Chris Froome winning the Tour de France (again!)
  19. Prince Harry officially announcing he was in a relationship (although we're personally devastated about this one…)
  20. Laura Trott and Jason Kenny tying the knot

When you look at it, there's been plenty to celebrate in 2016. Despite it being months since it last aired, our hearts are still racing from watching the baby iguana flee for its life on the BBC's Planet Earth 2. The entire show was definitely a highlight, with dancing flamingos, a sloth in search of love and a bobcat who totally gets what it feels like to have a bad day. And, of course, David Attenborough's incredible voice finally returned to our screens.

We saw the loveable Candice Brown win the Great British Bake Off too, and grace our screens with an entire collection of on-trend lip shades. The whole series was wonderful… but let's not mention its bittersweet end. It's one loss from 2016 we're refusing to accept.

An Oscar was finally given to Leonardo for his starring role in The Revenant. After years of acting in some of our favourite films, including Titanic, The Great Gatsby, What's Eating Gilbert Grape and The Wolf of Wall Street, he finally received the recognition he deserved. And the internet went wild, with funny photos and thousands of congratulatory tweets.

2016 was also a year the UK triumphed in sport. Andy Murray made us proud to be British once again with his Wimbledon win, Leicester City were the 5,000-1 underdogs who went on to win the Premier League, Mo Farah became the second man ever to win both the 5,000m and 10,000m in two consecutive Olympic Games and, while we're on the Olympics, Team GB did brilliantly finishing in second place. We were victorious in the Tour de France and unstoppable at rugby - is there anything we can't do?

It wasn't all about celebrities and amazing animals either. Stories of human kindness made the year seem a bit brighter, and we were all touched by Ali Brownlee sacrificing his race in the Triathlon World Series to help his brother cross the finishing line. He reminded us all of the importance of family, and that winning really isn't everything.

We really could go on and on. With the lows definitely came the highs, and tears were counteracted with smiles and the sound of laughter. There were definitely darker parts of 2016, but we think the happy moments definitely outshone them.