The BBC have confirmed their presenting line-up for this year’s Six Nations, with former England skipper Dylan Hartley nowhere to be seen.

Gabby Logan will continue to host live coverage of matches on BBC One and iPlayer. She will be joined by an array of famous faces including the likes of Sam Warburton, Tommy Bowe and Jonathan Davies.

Martin Johnson, Danny Care and Chris Ashton are among the former England players in the line-up, while Italy legend Sergio Parisse will also be involved in the BBC coverage.

Scotland will be represented by John Barclay and Chris Paterson, while former referee Nigel Owens will be on hand to clear up any controversial calls.

Six Nations Rugby Special, hosted by former England winger Ugo Monye, will return on BBC Two and iPlayer every Sunday during match weeks throughout the tournament.

Andrew Cotter will continue to provide lead commentary for live matches on the BBC, with Sara Orchard, Alastair Eykyn and Gareth Rhys Owen on duty for the highlights.

There is no room in the line-up for Harley, who was involved in the BBC coverage of last year’s Six Nations. Ben Kayser, who represented France between 2008 and 2015, has also been dropped by the broadcaster.

Coverage will once again be shared between the BBC and ITV, which has been the case since 2016. However, the future of the Six Nations on free-to-air television remains in doubt with the current broadcast deal set to expire ahead of next year.

Major sporting events such as Wimbledon, the Grand National and the FIFA World Cup are required by Ofcom to be shown on terrestrial channels, but the Six Nations does not fall into that category.

A revamped fixture schedule with more evening kick-offs is said to be under consideration for future tournaments. The proposed move could help free-to-air broadcasters land more ‘prime time’ fixtures when pitching for the contract.

Discussions over a new TV deal are still ongoing and it remains to be seen if the BBC and ITV will be able to reach an agreement with Six Nations bosses.

Ireland are the favourites to win this year’s tournament despite being without Andy Farrell, who has stepped away from his coaching role as he prepares to take charge of the British and Irish Lions.

England, meanwhile, have already been rocked by a series of injuries to key players such as Jamie George, Alex Mitchell and Alex Dombrandt.