DARTS WALK-ON girls are returning to TV competition after a six-and-a-half year absence.
Sporting legend Phil Taylor, the 16-time world darts champion, will be accompanied to the oche by female models when he throws at the World Seniors Matchplay on October 4-5.
The tournament for senior tungsten throwers – which is being staged at York’s Barbican – will be shown on TNT and the BBC Red Button and iPlayer.
Walk-on girls had been part of televised events for two decades until they were axed by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) and broadcast bosses in January 2018.
Glamorous companions were dropped at short notice for darts matches shown live on Sky Sports and ITV.
The controversial move became world-wide news and divided opinion – some felt it was a sexist role for women to do in the 21st century but others said it was “political correctness gone mad”.
Yet popular models Daniella Allfree and Charlotte Wood are announced today as new, long-term brand ambassadors for the World Seniors Darts Tour (WSDT) and will engage with fans on site.
Derbyshire-based Allfree, who figured in six PDC world darts finals, said: “It’s amazing we get another opportunity to do something that we really enjoy.
“It was a blow when we lost the role. It was a shock.
“So, it’s quite exciting that the WSDT are bringing us back. We bring fun and glamour to the walk-on.
“Rather than escorting a male, I saw our role as more of a mascot, just being present. Darts is a theatrical sport.
“It will be fantastic to see everyone again. It will be special to be back on live TV. It will though be overwhelming.
“A new door has opened for us. We can also prove people wrong, like ‘we’re back!’”
Wood, who hails from Leicestershire, said: “The support we had at the time was unreal. It feels nostalgic to go back.
“We saw it as the best job in the world. I got to work with my best friend. We travelled the country. Appearing on TV wearing nice dresses. We never felt unsafe or uncomfortable.
“For people to say we shouldn’t be doing it, it’s not really their choice. Us, as women, in today’s world, should be allowed to do what we want to do. It should be about choice.
“You see an ad on the TV with a model advertising shampoo. It’s just the same.
“In sport, there are still ring girls and dancers. We are models – it’s just a different professional.
“There isn’t an exhibition we don’t go to where somebody says to us, it was awful, it was ridiculous.”
A host of former darts world champions – including John Part, Martin Adams, Lisa Ashton and Trina Gulliver – will compete in the two-day event this autumn.
