Emma Paton has revealed she once saw a fan throw up in their own shoe as the World Darts Championship creeps closer.
The tournament is due to commence on Friday, with the likes of Michael van Gerwen, Luke Humphries and Gerwyn Price all set to take part in the coming weeks.
Paton will be the lead presenter when the event commences at Alexandra Palace.
And she’s now revealed that, after the coronavirus pandemic, she once spotted a fan throwing up on their own shoe on the way to the tournament.
Emma Paton has recalled seeing a fan throw up in their own shoe as the World Darts Championship looms
GETTY
“I remember the first Worlds when fans were back after the pandemic,” she told The Sun.
“I was driving up the hill to Ally Pally and I saw someone dressed as a traffic cone and then actually threw up in their own shoe.
“I was like ‘what the hell am I doing here!’”
However, it didn’t put her off. Paton loves covering darts – and enjoys working with the likes of Wayne Mardle, Mark Webster and John Part.
“It is really loud. There are some occasions when it’s just a wall of noise,” she continued.
“There are times when I actually can’t hear what Wayne Mardle, Mark Webster or John Part are saying.
“I can’t even hear the director in my ear.
“I just have to hope we are on the same page for running order and not too much has changed.
“Working with Wayne has helped me, he is someone who has always backs me.
“He’s one of those people who wants people around him to succeed.
“He’s like the Gary Neville of Sky Sports Darts.
“He’s so engaging and his analysis is second to none and his stories are ridiculous!”
Paton took over from veteran anchorman Dave Clark during the latter stages of 2020.
She earned the role after previously being part of the media team for Team GB during the London Olympics in 2012.
Paton has felt the pressure at times, especially with some fans so vile on social media.
Emma Paton is set to spearhead Sky Sports’ coverage of the World Darts Championship
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Yet the Surrey-born presenter is up for the challenge and admits Sky took a punt on her.
“It’s a fairly niche sport. You can look on X and people can pile in on certain things,” she said.
“In some ways I thought presenting football would be easier for me. It was a sport I had watched a lot more of by virtue of growing up as a football fan.
“In a way it felt more pressure because Dave had been so good for so long and had set the standard.
“It was probably a risk to bring me in as presenter, 100 per cent.
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“It came at a time when there was a change in darts.
“It was 2020 and coming off the back of Fallon Sherrock having her run beating Ted Evetts and Mensur Suljović.
“In some way it had shifted the mindset. There were casual fans who had tuned in to watch the World Championship over Christmas.
“They were like ‘wow women can play darts, we didn’t even know that’. We had Billie Jean King tweeting about it.
“It came at a time where, not only when Sky were putting females at the front of certain sports, but in darts we had some brilliant females coming through. I felt it changed people’s expectations of the sport.”
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
