Bullseyes and Beer: When Darts Hit Britain

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0:00:21 > 0:00:24"It's 1980!"

0:00:24 > 0:00:27A new decade had dawned.

0:00:27 > 0:00:30Margaret Thatcher was only a few months into her new job

0:00:30 > 0:00:31and it wasn't going well.

0:00:33 > 0:00:36The Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures had just been exposed

0:00:36 > 0:00:37as a Russian spy.

0:00:39 > 0:00:42And people were stripping off on the country's first nudist beach.

0:00:44 > 0:00:47But on a cold Saturday night in February,

0:00:47 > 0:00:49the eyes of Britain were focused

0:00:49 > 0:00:51on a small cabaret club in Stoke-on-Trent...

0:00:52 > 0:00:55..where two young lions were about to take the game of darts

0:00:55 > 0:00:59out of the bar-room and into the ballroom.

0:00:59 > 0:01:00CHANTING

0:01:00 > 0:01:03The crowd were fantastic, you know. "Bristow, Bobby George..."

0:01:03 > 0:01:08CHANTING: Bristow, Bobby George, Bristow, Bobby George...

0:01:08 > 0:01:11"Bristow, Bobby George, Eric Bristow, Bobby George..."

0:01:11 > 0:01:13Well, that never happened in darts.

0:01:13 > 0:01:16It's like having a ringside seat at the Coliseum.

0:01:17 > 0:01:20It changed darts. The viewing figures went up.

0:01:20 > 0:01:23People at home realised there was a lot of skill in darts

0:01:23 > 0:01:24and there was good dart players.

0:01:24 > 0:01:27But they knew there was characters there.

0:01:27 > 0:01:31A traditional working-class pub game had become a national obsession...

0:01:31 > 0:01:33Eric Bristow!

0:01:33 > 0:01:34..appealing to both genders...

0:01:34 > 0:01:38I love to beat any man, anyway, so it doesn't really matter.

0:01:38 > 0:01:41..and crossing the class divide.

0:01:41 > 0:01:44# Let's have a jolly old game of darts

0:01:44 > 0:01:47# Bing! Let's have a jolly old game of darts

0:01:47 > 0:01:48# Bing! #

0:01:48 > 0:01:51On its tiny scale, it is elemental,

0:01:51 > 0:01:55with a thrilling milieu. It's really sort of tiddlywinks in a bear pit.

0:01:55 > 0:01:56Double 14.

0:01:57 > 0:02:00- Yes!- And it was television, that for two decades

0:02:00 > 0:02:03launched darts into our living rooms,

0:02:03 > 0:02:07elevating its larger than life players into legends

0:02:07 > 0:02:10and turning its commentators into household names.

0:02:10 > 0:02:13I'm going to enjoy this. I think you will too.

0:02:13 > 0:02:15This is the story of those years,

0:02:15 > 0:02:18the pivotal games, the people and players

0:02:18 > 0:02:23who transformed a pub pastime into a sporting spectacle like no other.

0:02:35 > 0:02:38Darts has always had a reputation as the people's game.

0:02:40 > 0:02:43It's a working man's game. It's a poor man's game.

0:02:43 > 0:02:44Used to play with their jacket on,

0:02:44 > 0:02:48not because they was cold in the pub,

0:02:48 > 0:02:51they just couldn't afford anyone nicking their coat.

0:02:53 > 0:02:56But as the 1970s dawned, this poor man's pursuit

0:02:56 > 0:02:58was beginning to take on a different image.

0:03:01 > 0:03:04Here in the pubs and clubs of the Rhondda Valley,

0:03:04 > 0:03:06there was talk of a darting prodigy

0:03:06 > 0:03:09who was single-handedly changing the face of the game.

0:03:11 > 0:03:15This eager, restless crowd, has paid 50 pence a head

0:03:15 > 0:03:19to fill this cinema hall in South Wales to capacity,

0:03:19 > 0:03:22but they're not here to see a film, nor are they here for bingo.

0:03:22 > 0:03:26They've paid, quite simply, to see this man.

0:03:27 > 0:03:28He's Alan Evans,

0:03:28 > 0:03:30and in the villages and towns of the Rhondda,

0:03:30 > 0:03:34Alan is little short of a god,

0:03:34 > 0:03:36and this is why.

0:03:44 > 0:03:46Alan Evans would say what he was going to do,

0:03:46 > 0:03:48and he did it.

0:03:49 > 0:03:53I saw him play an exhibition, or a challenge match

0:03:53 > 0:03:56and he said, "I'm going to hit 12 180s tonight."

0:03:56 > 0:04:01He said, "And if I do, you all put money into these collection jars."

0:04:01 > 0:04:05He said, "And if I don't get 12, I'll put £50 in,"

0:04:05 > 0:04:06which was a lot of money then.

0:04:08 > 0:04:11180!

0:04:11 > 0:04:14He hit 12 180s before the last leg.

0:04:15 > 0:04:18And soon, the legend of Evans The Arrow

0:04:18 > 0:04:20would spread far and wide beyond the Valleys.

0:04:23 > 0:04:25Evans was following in a rich tradition

0:04:25 > 0:04:29of Darts Exhibition players like Londoner Joe Hitchcock,

0:04:29 > 0:04:33who in the post-war years had held crowds with his skill and dexterity,

0:04:33 > 0:04:35and not only with darts.

0:04:37 > 0:04:39It's a tribute to Joe's wizardry that there's no shortage

0:04:39 > 0:04:41of volunteers to help him demonstrate his skill.

0:04:45 > 0:04:47And if Hitchcock's sideshow trickery seemed

0:04:47 > 0:04:50a cheapening of the proud art of darts,

0:04:50 > 0:04:52then it was actually much closer to the game's origins

0:04:52 > 0:04:54than you might think.

0:04:54 > 0:04:58The origin of the modern game of darts is traditionally lost

0:04:58 > 0:04:59in the mist of alehouse smoke,

0:04:59 > 0:05:03but what happened in the mid-Victorian period was that

0:05:03 > 0:05:07fairground showmen brought across to Britain a traditional French game

0:05:07 > 0:05:09called Flechettes.

0:05:09 > 0:05:12The implements you would use were these little items,

0:05:12 > 0:05:15imported from France in great numbers, just made of wood

0:05:15 > 0:05:19with turkey feather flights and a point.

0:05:19 > 0:05:21So these would have been used in fairgrounds

0:05:21 > 0:05:24for a period of between 80 and 90 years.

0:05:30 > 0:05:35I also remember when I was a child in the '50s, going to the fairground

0:05:35 > 0:05:39and playing with these and they were always known as French darts.

0:05:40 > 0:05:44In Joe Hitchcock's day, the highlight of each darts season

0:05:44 > 0:05:47was The News Of The World Individual Championship,

0:05:47 > 0:05:51which had started modestly in 1927, but by the early 1970s

0:05:51 > 0:05:54was drawing in half a million entrants.

0:05:56 > 0:06:00The one to win, in them days, was definitely The News Of The World.

0:06:00 > 0:06:02Best of three, 501 from 8ft.

0:06:04 > 0:06:08On a wooden board, an elm board,

0:06:08 > 0:06:09which were slightly smaller,

0:06:09 > 0:06:11the trebles and the doubles on elm boards.

0:06:11 > 0:06:13And it's a lovely feeling to play

0:06:13 > 0:06:15in front of thousands and thousands of people

0:06:15 > 0:06:18and play darts to your ability.

0:06:21 > 0:06:25In April 1972, London Weekend Television's World Of Sport

0:06:25 > 0:06:28took the bold decision to cover the grand finals

0:06:28 > 0:06:31of The News Of The World Championship from Alexandra Palace -

0:06:31 > 0:06:34the first time a major darts tournament

0:06:34 > 0:06:36had ever been fully televised in this country.

0:06:36 > 0:06:39For the amateur dart thrower, this is Valhalla.

0:06:41 > 0:06:43And it was that five foot two Welshman from the Rhondda,

0:06:43 > 0:06:48Alan Evans, in a dragon red sweatshirt and Cuban heels,

0:06:48 > 0:06:52who stole the show when he blitzed the reigning champion Dennis Filkins

0:06:52 > 0:06:54in front of 12,000 devoted fans

0:06:54 > 0:06:57supping cans of ale and brandishing leeks.

0:07:01 > 0:07:04With a record seven million people tuning in to watch his exploits

0:07:04 > 0:07:07on World Of Sport, Evans The Arrow now became

0:07:07 > 0:07:10the first hero of dart's television age.

0:07:11 > 0:07:15And in what was becoming an era of Welsh sporting brilliance...

0:07:19 > 0:07:21..Alan Evans turned full professional

0:07:21 > 0:07:23and was soon joined at the top

0:07:23 > 0:07:27by his friend and fellow countryman Leighton Rees.

0:07:27 > 0:07:30The guys that influenced me on the actual dartboard itself

0:07:30 > 0:07:33first of all, was Alan Evans and Leighton Rees,

0:07:33 > 0:07:35Leighton had the best style

0:07:35 > 0:07:40but Evans had the fiery will and if he was playing today -

0:07:40 > 0:07:41sadly, he's gone now -

0:07:41 > 0:07:45but if he was playing today, he'd be a force to be reckoned with.

0:07:45 > 0:07:47What Evans showed to both his fellow players

0:07:47 > 0:07:52and to darts fans was that darts was more than just a pub pastime.

0:07:52 > 0:07:54It was an aspirational career.

0:07:58 > 0:08:01I get well paid for my exhibitions

0:08:01 > 0:08:05so I can really allow to pay a driver every week.

0:08:05 > 0:08:08I like a few pints and so sometimes I have over the few.

0:08:10 > 0:08:13And then you've always got the breathalyser coming into it.

0:08:14 > 0:08:19So some people might think it's just a show but it's not really.

0:08:22 > 0:08:24I always class darts like boxing.

0:08:24 > 0:08:32Like, erm, normal people have got a chance to box and earn money

0:08:32 > 0:08:35and get out of the ghetto where they come from or the bad area they live.

0:08:36 > 0:08:38Darts is exactly the same.

0:08:41 > 0:08:45Bristow was the cocky young hustler from North London who'd taken up

0:08:45 > 0:08:47arrows instead of a life of crime,

0:08:47 > 0:08:49and believed he could conquer the world.

0:08:50 > 0:08:53From the outset, he had a steely resolve to win.

0:08:55 > 0:08:58What I loved about the darts is, it's me against you

0:08:58 > 0:09:01and I'm better than you, and that's the end of it.

0:09:01 > 0:09:02You think you're better than me,

0:09:02 > 0:09:04but I'm going to prove that you're not.

0:09:06 > 0:09:09He'd been bred for darting glory.

0:09:09 > 0:09:11Me dad put a dartboard in me bedroom when I was 11.

0:09:11 > 0:09:13The dartboard just intrigued me.

0:09:13 > 0:09:15Different numbers, the different ways to go,

0:09:15 > 0:09:18I used to play for hours and hours and hours.

0:09:18 > 0:09:20And then me finger stuck out, and then me dad said at 14,

0:09:20 > 0:09:2214 and a half, I was, he said, "You're ready."

0:09:22 > 0:09:24Obviously he was going to take me down the pub.

0:09:24 > 0:09:27He said, "I don't want you playing like that down the pub,

0:09:27 > 0:09:28"Sticking your finger out!"

0:09:28 > 0:09:31He was a bit worried about his son having his little finger out.

0:09:31 > 0:09:33Me mum quite liked it, like drinking a cup of tea.

0:09:36 > 0:09:39There's thousands of people all over the world still doing it now,

0:09:39 > 0:09:42with their fingers out thinking it's going to make them any better.

0:09:42 > 0:09:45HE LAUGHS It ain't! You got to be gifted, son.

0:09:46 > 0:09:50And his gift was put to good use down the local.

0:09:50 > 0:09:53We used to play for sixpence a game, a tanner a game.

0:09:54 > 0:09:57I played me dad first, then somebody chalked it, then I play him

0:09:57 > 0:10:00and while that was going on, people were coming in the pub,

0:10:00 > 0:10:03put an E up, a B up and a C up, a long list of names.

0:10:03 > 0:10:05And then I played from 12 until quarter past two

0:10:05 > 0:10:08and I never lost a game, and had a pocket full of tanners.

0:10:08 > 0:10:09Tanners were good,

0:10:09 > 0:10:10but tenners were better,

0:10:10 > 0:10:13and wannabe professionals began to roam the country,

0:10:13 > 0:10:17taking on all-comers for high stakes in super-league tournaments,

0:10:17 > 0:10:21Holiday Camp competitions and after-hours money racers.

0:10:21 > 0:10:25This pub in Walthamstow we used to meet up, there was Eric,

0:10:25 > 0:10:26meself, there was all the top dart players.

0:10:26 > 0:10:29And we used to have money racers afterwards.

0:10:29 > 0:10:32And the money racer you put the guy up who you thought was good

0:10:32 > 0:10:36and play a game 3001. You know, I used to love it. It was a buzz.

0:10:36 > 0:10:37Me and me Dad just went around.

0:10:37 > 0:10:39When we got there, this bloke says to me,

0:10:39 > 0:10:41"Do you want to play this guy for a grand?"

0:10:41 > 0:10:44I said, "We haven't got a grand." He said, "We'll put the money up."

0:10:44 > 0:10:47They said if you beat him we'll give you five hundred quid.

0:10:47 > 0:10:49Fair enough. Well, they had two grand side bets on it.

0:10:52 > 0:10:55Even professionals like Alan Evans and Leighton Rees

0:10:55 > 0:10:56wanted a piece of the action.

0:10:58 > 0:11:01My introduction to the big league, if you like,

0:11:01 > 0:11:05was playing Leighton Rees at Maerdy Workman's Hall.

0:11:05 > 0:11:10As much as £4,000 we're playing for. Not our money, the punters money.

0:11:10 > 0:11:13They would make two queues and they'd put money on me

0:11:13 > 0:11:16and if the book was full-on me,

0:11:16 > 0:11:18they'd jump over and have a bet on the other side.

0:11:18 > 0:11:20That's how it all started.

0:11:23 > 0:11:27All this might suggest arrowslingers wandering from pub to pub

0:11:27 > 0:11:29in a lawless world of darts,

0:11:29 > 0:11:31but these shootouts were taking place

0:11:31 > 0:11:34in the most regulated period the game had ever seen.

0:11:35 > 0:11:39And this was down to the British Darts Organisation,

0:11:39 > 0:11:42a new governing body set up in January 1973

0:11:42 > 0:11:45at the London home of businessman Olly Croft.

0:11:47 > 0:11:50I had ambitions of doing what we were aiming to do.

0:11:50 > 0:11:52We had two years of meetings in this room

0:11:52 > 0:11:55with delegates from these different counties.

0:11:55 > 0:11:58We started off with ten counties, then the following year we had 20,

0:11:58 > 0:12:00then 31, then 43,

0:12:00 > 0:12:04right up until we finished up with 69 counties throughout Great Britain.

0:12:04 > 0:12:08Another man who shared Olly's vision of a big future for the game,

0:12:08 > 0:12:10and had marvelled at Alan Evans' darting prowess

0:12:10 > 0:12:13on World Of Sport the previous year,

0:12:13 > 0:12:16was a young documentary producer from Yorkshire Television.

0:12:16 > 0:12:20His name was Sid Waddell, and what he witnessed that day

0:12:20 > 0:12:23convinced him that televised darts was the coming thing.

0:12:28 > 0:12:30Looking to build on World Of Sport's success,

0:12:30 > 0:12:33Waddell reported back to his bosses at Yorkshire Television,

0:12:33 > 0:12:37and together they cooked up a tribute to the unsung heroes

0:12:37 > 0:12:40and heroines of the tap room - a pub Olympics.

0:12:42 > 0:12:46Now then, today the grand prix of the Indoor League - men's darts.

0:12:46 > 0:12:48I watched the Indoor League when I was 16.

0:12:48 > 0:12:51I used to play with my mate Eddie Rayson in the pub,

0:12:51 > 0:12:53and it come on at one o'clock in the afternoon.

0:12:53 > 0:12:55I said, "Bloody hell, darts on TV."

0:12:55 > 0:12:57So this is Evans, a great little player.

0:13:00 > 0:13:03He wants double top, and I must keep my big mouth shut.

0:13:03 > 0:13:06CHEERING

0:13:06 > 0:13:10And the people that were coming on TV, I'd beat for money,

0:13:10 > 0:13:13most of them, and some of them wouldn't play me again,

0:13:13 > 0:13:16so...how the hell do I get on there?

0:13:16 > 0:13:18He soon got his chance.

0:13:18 > 0:13:19180!

0:13:21 > 0:13:25I always remember being on it and this one year they put up

0:13:25 > 0:13:29£180 for every 180 scored

0:13:29 > 0:13:32and Eric Bristow and myself were pretty good friends

0:13:32 > 0:13:35and we said, we think we'll share that.

0:13:35 > 0:13:37And they hadn't got enough money to pay us!

0:13:38 > 0:13:42I think Eric hit about 15, I'm not quite sure.

0:13:42 > 0:13:44I contributed, but not as many as Eric.

0:13:45 > 0:13:49The Indoor League may have come across as a sweaty celebration

0:13:49 > 0:13:53of all things male, but it also showcased the ladies game.

0:13:53 > 0:13:56If you think all a woman should throw is spuds into a sink,

0:13:56 > 0:13:59then just keep your eyes peeled on these two.

0:13:59 > 0:14:02150 quid on the end of this when they get to the final.

0:14:02 > 0:14:06The first major televised darts competition for ladies.

0:14:06 > 0:14:08- And really these girls...- 65!

0:14:08 > 0:14:10..have shown an awful lot of skill and expertise.

0:14:10 > 0:14:14When it came on the television, that was really something else.

0:14:14 > 0:14:17We were all glued to the TV to watch the ladies darts,

0:14:17 > 0:14:20and, of course, you think "Ooh, yes, I could do that."

0:14:20 > 0:14:23Maureen Flowers was to blaze a trail for ladies darts

0:14:23 > 0:14:27during the late '70s, captaining the first England Ladies team

0:14:27 > 0:14:30and also giving the men a run for their money.

0:14:30 > 0:14:32I could hold my own with a good man player

0:14:32 > 0:14:35and to actually beat the professionals was wonderful,

0:14:35 > 0:14:37absolutely wonderful. I love to beat any man anyway.

0:14:37 > 0:14:38She beat loads of them.

0:14:38 > 0:14:41She was that good, she used to beat all these top players.

0:14:41 > 0:14:43Abroad and that.

0:14:43 > 0:14:46All the men respected her. You didn't want to play Maureen.

0:14:46 > 0:14:49And whilst the ladies game was getting off the ground,

0:14:49 > 0:14:52the men's game was positively soaring,

0:14:52 > 0:14:55attracting sponsors and a steady stream of new tournaments

0:14:55 > 0:14:58offering cars and big cash prizes.

0:15:00 > 0:15:03Televised darts still posed the eternal question -

0:15:03 > 0:15:05was this a sport or a spectacle?

0:15:05 > 0:15:10But in 1977, one BBC Sport producer realised that all it needed

0:15:10 > 0:15:11was the proper treatment.

0:15:13 > 0:15:17The snooker had started to take off, and the controller, Aubrey Singer,

0:15:17 > 0:15:20said to me, almost as a joke, "You haven't go another sport

0:15:20 > 0:15:23"like that, have you, you think could do well?"

0:15:23 > 0:15:24And I said, "Yes, the darts."

0:15:25 > 0:15:32So he looked at me because darts to him was here you go in the pub.

0:15:32 > 0:15:37And saw I was serious, and he said, "If you're serious,

0:15:37 > 0:15:39"I'll give it a go."

0:15:39 > 0:15:42So I said I was, so he did.

0:15:42 > 0:15:44And I rang Olly Croft up and said,

0:15:44 > 0:15:47"Have you got a world championship?"

0:15:47 > 0:15:49And he said no, and I said,

0:15:49 > 0:15:52"Well, you have now, because BBC TWO will cover it."

0:15:52 > 0:15:54And we worked on it from there.

0:15:57 > 0:16:00The first Embassy World Darts Championship kicked off

0:16:00 > 0:16:02on the 6th of February 1978

0:16:02 > 0:16:04from the Heart of The Midlands nightclub in Nottingham.

0:16:04 > 0:16:07The winner stood to net £3,000.

0:16:07 > 0:16:11Cameras now took viewers far closer to the action than ever before,

0:16:11 > 0:16:14but for all the skill on show, filming it posed tricky problems.

0:16:16 > 0:16:20Darts is probably the hardest sport to film. It's fast.

0:16:20 > 0:16:22Quick.

0:16:23 > 0:16:29If you drop in concentration at all, you're down amongst the dead men.

0:16:29 > 0:16:32You're going to miss out shots and doubles.

0:16:32 > 0:16:34It takes a lot of concentration.

0:16:36 > 0:16:39And certain player's styles proved hard to capture.

0:16:39 > 0:16:42Double 18. Yes, he's got it!

0:16:42 > 0:16:45You got Ceri Morgan, he looks like he's throwing hand grenades at you.

0:16:45 > 0:16:47I mean, the style was unbelievable.

0:16:47 > 0:16:51He beat me in the British Professional Final

0:16:51 > 0:16:54and I'm going like, ton, he's going 26, I go ton...

0:16:54 > 0:16:57I thought, he's easy. He got a 180 like that.

0:16:57 > 0:17:01You know. He used to put you off. He only done me.

0:17:01 > 0:17:04Nick Hunter, directing the live feed in the scanner truck,

0:17:04 > 0:17:06felt that a vital ingredient was missing,

0:17:06 > 0:17:09and was determined to show the players' faces.

0:17:09 > 0:17:15Darts was being covered largely with too many close-ups of the board,

0:17:15 > 0:17:17while the player, out of shot, was throwing the dart.

0:17:19 > 0:17:22I could see why that was happening, because if you cover one shot

0:17:22 > 0:17:25for a throw, one shot for the board, one shot for a...

0:17:25 > 0:17:29It's sort of six shots every time a player throws his three darts.

0:17:29 > 0:17:35If they're fast... You know, the viewer at home's watching shots,

0:17:35 > 0:17:38and after two days of it I thought, "This is no good."

0:17:38 > 0:17:42But apart from my finger which was almost worn down to the quick,

0:17:42 > 0:17:46because I was just cutting backwards and forwards,

0:17:46 > 0:17:51and I was wondering how on Earth I could stop this cutting.

0:17:51 > 0:17:53There were viewer's complaining.

0:17:53 > 0:17:57You know in your bones it's not working very well.

0:17:57 > 0:18:01So we had a bit of a meeting and in the end a cameraman

0:18:01 > 0:18:04said, "Well, why don't you split the screen?"

0:18:07 > 0:18:08So, dare one say it?

0:18:09 > 0:18:13He ought to be favourite cos he gets the first throw.

0:18:13 > 0:18:16And on the split screen, you can see the face,

0:18:16 > 0:18:19you can see the board and it made all the difference.

0:18:20 > 0:18:22It made it easier to cover,

0:18:22 > 0:18:26and better to cover at the same time, which is quite rare.

0:18:28 > 0:18:30100!

0:18:30 > 0:18:33You could watch a player start to lose it.

0:18:34 > 0:18:3660.

0:18:36 > 0:18:37Or the opposite, if you like.

0:18:37 > 0:18:41You could watch a player gradually realising he's getting in control

0:18:41 > 0:18:47of the match and that's a precious part of that split screen.

0:18:49 > 0:18:52And as well as transforming the look of televised darts,

0:18:52 > 0:18:56Nick Hunter was also to unleash a new and unorthodox commentator

0:18:56 > 0:18:58on an unsuspecting public.

0:18:58 > 0:19:03None other than the producer of The Indoor League, Sid Waddell.

0:19:03 > 0:19:07His enthusiasm and his knowledge of the game shone through,

0:19:07 > 0:19:11and I gave him a go.

0:19:11 > 0:19:13Left himself a double.

0:19:14 > 0:19:18Waddell was an enigma. A Northumbrian miner's son

0:19:18 > 0:19:20who'd won a scholarship to Cambridge

0:19:20 > 0:19:23and brought his Geordie exuberance to his commentary,

0:19:23 > 0:19:26which was full of puns and pumped-up scene setting.

0:19:28 > 0:19:33There was less noise when Pompeii was swamped in lava!

0:19:34 > 0:19:36His legendary one-liners would endear him

0:19:36 > 0:19:39to darts fans and players alike...

0:19:39 > 0:19:40He dug deep into it.

0:19:40 > 0:19:44He didn't just come along and commentate, he felt for you.

0:19:44 > 0:19:48..earning him the soubriquet The Voice Of Darts.

0:19:48 > 0:19:51The atmosphere - a cross between the Munich beer festival

0:19:51 > 0:19:54and the Coliseum when the Christians were on the menu.

0:19:54 > 0:19:56Sid needed a bit of controlling really.

0:19:56 > 0:20:00He'd come out with the odd remark which would shiver me timbers

0:20:00 > 0:20:02and I'd have to go out and have a world with him.

0:20:02 > 0:20:05And we had a battle or two.

0:20:05 > 0:20:07Erm...I think we were both right really.

0:20:07 > 0:20:10He wanted to lighten it up and do it his way

0:20:10 > 0:20:14and I didn't want him charging around like a bull in a china shop.

0:20:15 > 0:20:19With 2.7 million people tuning in to see Leighton Rees

0:20:19 > 0:20:22beat John Lowe in the final, split screen darts

0:20:22 > 0:20:26and Sid Waddell's colourful Geordie lip had proved a hit combo.

0:20:26 > 0:20:28Double tops to take the world champion prize.

0:20:28 > 0:20:30CHEERING

0:20:35 > 0:20:37And in the week following the match,

0:20:37 > 0:20:40high street sports shops sold out of darts equipment.

0:20:42 > 0:20:45The following year saw Lowe and Rees reach the final again,

0:20:45 > 0:20:47but this time it was Lowe who triumphed.

0:20:48 > 0:20:51Savouring the moment. Double ten.

0:20:55 > 0:20:58CHEERING

0:20:58 > 0:21:00The grin of the champion.

0:21:00 > 0:21:03The new champion being congratulated by the old.

0:21:03 > 0:21:08To win the Embassy was quite phenomenal to be quite honest.

0:21:08 > 0:21:10Ray Reardon, the snooker player, was world champion

0:21:10 > 0:21:12and he presented me with the trophy,

0:21:12 > 0:21:16and it was the biggest part of my career,

0:21:16 > 0:21:20it set me off on a run that's never really stopped.

0:21:22 > 0:21:24If Rees and Lowe swapping trophies

0:21:24 > 0:21:29made it seem like the Embassy Championship was a two-horse race,

0:21:29 > 0:21:33then the third year's dream final would give us two new contenders,

0:21:33 > 0:21:35now sporting catchy stage names.

0:21:37 > 0:21:39The Bobby Dazzler was riding high

0:21:39 > 0:21:42after winning the News Of The World Championship.

0:21:42 > 0:21:45I won that one. That made me.

0:21:45 > 0:21:48Diana Dors give me the trophy, bless her.

0:21:48 > 0:21:52And she loved a pint of lager that girl. She'd drink a pint of lager.

0:21:52 > 0:21:55And his opponent, The Crafty Cockney, was still smarting

0:21:55 > 0:22:00from his run-in with arch rival Alan Evans the previous year.

0:22:00 > 0:22:02Well, the thing is, Eric, you're so easy to beat.

0:22:02 > 0:22:04You had no problem with me at all, Alan.

0:22:04 > 0:22:08It's easy. When we play you, we know there's no danger from you at all.

0:22:10 > 0:22:12The showdown at Jollees Cabaret Club

0:22:12 > 0:22:14would be just the ticket for the telly.

0:22:15 > 0:22:18Well, I'd advise you to sit on the edge of your seat

0:22:18 > 0:22:21because I'm sitting on the edge of mine as the gladiators come out.

0:22:22 > 0:22:24And don't blink, don't even blink,

0:22:24 > 0:22:28because I think these two will go off like guided missiles.

0:22:29 > 0:22:32You could see the difference between the two world finals before

0:22:32 > 0:22:35and then all of a sudden you had the two gobs in the final.

0:22:35 > 0:22:39I wore the glittery shirts which I took from the ice skaters,

0:22:39 > 0:22:44because I thought it would make the game more...theatrical

0:22:44 > 0:22:45and people would watch it.

0:22:45 > 0:22:48Welcome back to the stage, Bobby George!

0:22:50 > 0:22:53The other contender in this final's Eric Bristow!

0:22:53 > 0:22:55BOOING

0:22:57 > 0:22:58We got the audience more involved.

0:23:00 > 0:23:03I was sort of the good-looking one,

0:23:03 > 0:23:04and Eric was the ugly one.

0:23:05 > 0:23:08And he was mouthy and all that, but that's the way he was.

0:23:08 > 0:23:10If he didn't mouth off, he couldn't play

0:23:10 > 0:23:14Four-three up and one-nil.

0:23:14 > 0:23:18Gee-up when you hit the double, he started all that.

0:23:18 > 0:23:20We always used to wind each other up all the time, know what I mean.

0:23:20 > 0:23:23He had B and a G there and I said, Big Girl.

0:23:23 > 0:23:26I said, put another B on the back, Big Girl's Blouse.

0:23:26 > 0:23:29BOOING

0:23:29 > 0:23:32They was booing Eric at one time, really bad,

0:23:32 > 0:23:34and I said, "No, come on."

0:23:34 > 0:23:36If I'd known what he was going to turn out

0:23:36 > 0:23:38I should have been, "Come on, more!" But there you are...

0:23:39 > 0:23:41But for all the posturing and posing

0:23:41 > 0:23:43there was still a game of darts to be played.

0:23:46 > 0:23:49Double 18. Fantastic!

0:23:51 > 0:23:54Double 14.

0:23:54 > 0:23:55Yes!

0:23:57 > 0:24:04The first half was my half, and I should have kept that up.

0:24:04 > 0:24:06It was a close game all the way through.

0:24:06 > 0:24:07It wasn't one-sided.

0:24:09 > 0:24:14Yes, Bristow - 2, Bobby George - nil.

0:24:14 > 0:24:17In a seven set.

0:24:17 > 0:24:18He's going some now, is Bristow.

0:24:20 > 0:24:22180!

0:24:29 > 0:24:33After two hours, the match was delicately poised.

0:24:33 > 0:24:35Bobby needed a leg to tie the match,

0:24:35 > 0:24:37Eric needed it for the Championship.

0:24:41 > 0:24:46If that man in red gets this set, he's the new champion.

0:24:46 > 0:24:49Game on, ladies and gentlemen, please.

0:24:49 > 0:24:51It was a good game, most of the sets went to 3-2.

0:24:51 > 0:24:54He played well, we both knew each other for a long time.

0:24:54 > 0:24:57I mean, I used to play pairs with him when I was 16,

0:24:57 > 0:25:00so it wasn't as if we didn't know each other's game inside out.

0:25:08 > 0:25:11- 45.- This is George's chance.

0:25:13 > 0:25:15- 60.- Not enough, I don't think.

0:25:17 > 0:25:19He's come down for that treble 19. Just missed.

0:25:24 > 0:25:27Bobby's got a chance. There's the three-dart shot.

0:25:30 > 0:25:32He's got the 60. Treble 15?

0:25:40 > 0:25:42- Lovely shot.- 123.

0:25:43 > 0:25:46Treble 16, left me two nines.

0:25:51 > 0:25:5618 means double nine on this set to level it up. Four-four.

0:25:58 > 0:25:59Can I have some order, please?

0:26:00 > 0:26:06So he got his shot, big nine, proper nine,

0:26:06 > 0:26:08and then he went for single one.

0:26:08 > 0:26:12So in me mind I said, "Whatever you do, don't hit the 20."

0:26:12 > 0:26:14And awkward one. One.

0:26:14 > 0:26:16Bang, straight in the middle.

0:26:16 > 0:26:19That says it all.

0:26:19 > 0:26:21He's behind me, must have laughed his head off.

0:26:21 > 0:26:24He's got double top left, ain't he? To win the match.

0:26:24 > 0:26:27Instead of thinking about the next set, bang, I'm in there.

0:26:27 > 0:26:30This is my chance. All this running through your head.

0:26:30 > 0:26:33Now you've got a chance before you've expected it, take it.

0:26:33 > 0:26:35You might only get one shot at this in your whole life.

0:26:37 > 0:26:40The Crafty Cockney, Eric Bristow, rated number one in the world.

0:26:40 > 0:26:42Some order, ladies and gentlemen, please.

0:26:42 > 0:26:45Needs a single double to become world champion.

0:26:45 > 0:26:47I thought that's it, I put the darts away.

0:26:47 > 0:26:49He ain't going to miss it.

0:26:49 > 0:26:52It's my own fault. I've given it to him now.

0:26:53 > 0:26:55I hit the 20 first dart, I thought,

0:26:55 > 0:26:57"Bloody hell, don't go to the last dart!"

0:26:59 > 0:27:03Eric Bristow from Stoke Newington

0:27:03 > 0:27:11becomes the 1980 Embassy Professional Champion of the World.

0:27:11 > 0:27:13Yeah, all them years and years of practice,

0:27:13 > 0:27:17just worth it, in one hit.

0:27:17 > 0:27:18Best double ten I ever hit.

0:27:19 > 0:27:23More than eight million had tuned in to watch the unfolding drama.

0:27:23 > 0:27:25The TV close-up had come into its own

0:27:25 > 0:27:27and the game was on the crest of a wave,

0:27:27 > 0:27:31but it wasn't the first time the country had gone darts mad.

0:27:31 > 0:27:35# Anywhere from Mayfair to a pub down Wigan Way

0:27:35 > 0:27:39# When folks get together you will always here them say,

0:27:39 > 0:27:41# Let's have a jolly old game of darts

0:27:41 > 0:27:42# Bing!

0:27:42 > 0:27:45# Let's have a jolly old game of darts

0:27:45 > 0:27:46# Bing!

0:27:46 > 0:27:50# First you get a double, then right off you go

0:27:50 > 0:27:54# But you needn't trouble if you don't know how to throw... #

0:27:54 > 0:27:57In the late 1930s, with the game already the lifeblood

0:27:57 > 0:27:59of the British Pub, darts had witnessed

0:27:59 > 0:28:01a short but spectacular craze

0:28:01 > 0:28:03amongst the middle and upper classes.

0:28:06 > 0:28:10It peaked in December 1937 when the King and Queen paid a visit

0:28:10 > 0:28:14to Slough Trading Estate where they took in a darts demonstration.

0:28:17 > 0:28:19The Queen asked if she could have a go

0:28:19 > 0:28:22and stepped regally onto the oche.

0:28:25 > 0:28:27She scored a total of...

0:28:27 > 0:28:2921.

0:28:29 > 0:28:31The King felt confident...

0:28:31 > 0:28:33Single seven, single three,

0:28:33 > 0:28:34single nine.

0:28:36 > 0:28:39He announced his wife the winner, whereupon she smiled

0:28:39 > 0:28:42and declared darts "a very sporty game."

0:28:45 > 0:28:49This royal endorsement seemed to suggest that darts was for everyone.

0:28:49 > 0:28:54It became a cosmopolitan fad with soirees of darts and dancing,

0:28:54 > 0:28:58and even darts saloons where you'd be given instruction

0:28:58 > 0:29:01and have your arrows retrieved by a darting attendant.

0:29:04 > 0:29:08Increased mobility meant that some of the bright young things

0:29:08 > 0:29:10were able to travel out to countryside pubs.

0:29:10 > 0:29:13They would invade the public bar

0:29:13 > 0:29:16and play the locals at a game of darts and find it "fascinating."

0:29:18 > 0:29:21# Put a little gladness in your heart

0:29:21 > 0:29:24# Yesterday at tea, Crosby said to me,

0:29:24 > 0:29:28# Let's have a jolly old game of darts. Bing! #

0:29:29 > 0:29:33And 50 years on, this jolly old game still seemed to be

0:29:33 > 0:29:36a bit of amusing working-class whimsy to the upper echelons.

0:29:38 > 0:29:41Someone who's been pushed around most of the papers today

0:29:41 > 0:29:45is Prince Edward. He's really got front page treatment, hasn't he?

0:29:45 > 0:29:49For allegedly interrupting a darts match in a pub in Cambridge.

0:29:49 > 0:29:52Yes, there was the poor chap in with five friends in a pub

0:29:52 > 0:29:57and clearly they interrupted a very serious, er, darts match,

0:29:57 > 0:30:00and we all know how important those events are...

0:30:00 > 0:30:02Thank you for mentioning darts.

0:30:02 > 0:30:04Jonathan Miller here wants to say something about darts.

0:30:04 > 0:30:05Don't ask me what.

0:30:05 > 0:30:07What do you want to say about darts?

0:30:07 > 0:30:10I have no remark to make about darts as such, it doesn't interest me,

0:30:10 > 0:30:14but what fascinates me is the presentation of darts on television,

0:30:14 > 0:30:17that split screen that you get, which reveals something

0:30:17 > 0:30:20very fascinating about human behaviour. Have you noticed that,

0:30:20 > 0:30:23when the act of concentration is at its highest, there are

0:30:23 > 0:30:26very strange and irrelevant movements of the mouth and face,

0:30:26 > 0:30:28which are absolutely characteristic of each person.

0:30:28 > 0:30:3145.

0:30:32 > 0:30:36The TV cameras had now put the darts players' lifestyle under close scrutiny.

0:30:36 > 0:30:42Television can make or break you, really...especially the close-ups.

0:30:42 > 0:30:46And all the pints and pot-bellied polyester

0:30:46 > 0:30:49were easy pickings for a new wave of comedy talent.

0:30:52 > 0:30:53Game on.

0:30:53 > 0:30:57COMMENTATOR (IMITATING SID WADDELL): So, it's Fat Belly to go first.

0:30:57 > 0:30:59And it's a good start.

0:30:59 > 0:31:01LAUGHTER

0:31:01 > 0:31:02Double vodka.

0:31:05 > 0:31:07Single pint.

0:31:10 > 0:31:15They done that sketch just after the final in 1980 and me and Eric,

0:31:15 > 0:31:19Eric was like a hat-pin, with a dart, quite thin, and I had

0:31:19 > 0:31:22a really good physique, so there was no fat on me and there was

0:31:22 > 0:31:27no fat on Eric, but because Leighton Rees was so chubby and Jocky,

0:31:27 > 0:31:31they picked that, that's the sort of image that they tried to give it.

0:31:31 > 0:31:32They took the piss out of the game,

0:31:32 > 0:31:35but I think it backfired on them, personally. I thought

0:31:35 > 0:31:40it wasn't humorous and it was wrong, because we were not all like that.

0:31:40 > 0:31:44It wasn't just the sketch shows that irritated the leading players.

0:31:44 > 0:31:48Leighton Rees is well on the way to another record. That's his fifth pint already!

0:31:48 > 0:31:50The TV took the mickey out of us,

0:31:50 > 0:31:52they didn't really look after us, then.

0:31:52 > 0:31:56You used to have bad shots on TV of somebody having a pint, closing in on it.

0:31:56 > 0:32:02Really, they didn't have a lot of respect for us, looking back on it. Well, we knew that, then.

0:32:02 > 0:32:06They made no secret of what they were doing in between throwing darts

0:32:06 > 0:32:07or at the end of a leg,

0:32:07 > 0:32:12so, I mean, you could see it happening. You don't avoid the shot.

0:32:12 > 0:32:17You avoid the close-ups, perhaps, but you can't pretend it's not happening.

0:32:18 > 0:32:21The image that TV projected of these outsized characters,

0:32:21 > 0:32:25together with the brash spectacle of the game, was a great stimulus

0:32:25 > 0:32:29to one of the decade's leading novelists.

0:32:29 > 0:32:31I'd watched a great deal of it on TV.

0:32:31 > 0:32:38We're talking about an era - perhaps, early '80s -

0:32:38 > 0:32:43where it was a very mercurial

0:32:43 > 0:32:49atmosphere at these events, where Eric Bristow,

0:32:49 > 0:32:53who was the biggest, sort of, rabble-rouser of them all,

0:32:53 > 0:32:55marvellously, sort of, arrogant.

0:32:55 > 0:32:58Double eight, for the set.

0:32:58 > 0:33:01Game shot and the fourth set to Eric Bristow!

0:33:01 > 0:33:06If the crowd was having a go at him, he would stand waiting to throw,

0:33:06 > 0:33:11and he would detach his underpants from his bum crack,

0:33:11 > 0:33:16basically, in a vivid and energetic gesture, which was showing what

0:33:16 > 0:33:19he thought of the audience and then, the temperature would go up again.

0:33:19 > 0:33:22Once you've seen Eric, you didn't forget him, did you?

0:33:22 > 0:33:24He was that kind of person, and they'd be booing him

0:33:24 > 0:33:27and he'd go, "Come on, I can't hear you" and they'd go crazy.

0:33:27 > 0:33:32He just loved it, he loved people having a go at him.

0:33:32 > 0:33:35Maureen and Eric were now an item.

0:33:35 > 0:33:39The King of Arrows had met his Queen of Darts.

0:33:39 > 0:33:42It was like Burton and Taylor going out, you know.

0:33:45 > 0:33:47They were the stars of the time.

0:33:58 > 0:34:01Top darts stars had become, not just household names,

0:34:01 > 0:34:04but light-entertainment celebrities.

0:34:06 > 0:34:10I want him to put his head next to the dartboard

0:34:10 > 0:34:12and I want to throw six darts...

0:34:12 > 0:34:16We could have a game. We could play for a bit of stakes, you know?

0:34:16 > 0:34:19That would be handy, yeah. How much do you want to lose?

0:34:19 > 0:34:22They even made it on to Top Of The Pops.

0:34:22 > 0:34:26Yes, that's darter Jocky Wilson beaming out from a screen,

0:34:26 > 0:34:28as Dexy's Midnight Runners belt out their homage

0:34:28 > 0:34:30to soul singer JACKIE Wilson!

0:34:38 > 0:34:41The tension showing on Jocky's face...

0:34:41 > 0:34:46Jocky had won the 1982 Embassy World Championship in some style.

0:34:46 > 0:34:50One dart could give him the world championship - double 16.

0:34:50 > 0:34:54Yes! Game shot and match!

0:34:57 > 0:35:01SID WADDELL: They'll be singing, they'll be Highland flinging

0:35:01 > 0:35:05all over Scotland for this lad. Didn't he go well?

0:35:07 > 0:35:10By the following year, it seemed a dead cert

0:35:10 > 0:35:13that either Wilson, Bristow or Lowe -

0:35:13 > 0:35:16the top three-ranked players in the world

0:35:16 > 0:35:21would take the title, but 1983 would take everyone by surprise.

0:35:22 > 0:35:25In my opinion, the greatest game I've ever seen,

0:35:25 > 0:35:31without a shadow of a doubt - Eric Bristow and Keith Deller.

0:35:31 > 0:35:35It was magic. Absolute magic.

0:35:35 > 0:35:39Deller was a 23-year-old unseeded qualifier,

0:35:39 > 0:35:42and the first qualifier ever to reach a final.

0:35:42 > 0:35:46He beat Nicky Varachkul, he beat Jocky Wilson,

0:35:46 > 0:35:47he beat Lowey, John Lowe.

0:35:48 > 0:35:51So, he's beat the top guys in the world

0:35:51 > 0:35:53and he's playing Bristow in the final.

0:35:53 > 0:35:55Don't get me wrong, beating John and Jocky was great,

0:35:55 > 0:35:58but Eric was the main man and if you're going to beat

0:35:58 > 0:36:02anybody at that time, you wanted to beat Eric in the final.

0:36:02 > 0:36:04I just knew, my heart was pounding.

0:36:04 > 0:36:08COMPERE: The 1983 World Professional Championship.

0:36:08 > 0:36:13First set, first leg. Keith Deller to throw first.

0:36:13 > 0:36:14CHEERING

0:36:14 > 0:36:15Game on.

0:36:15 > 0:36:18The joint is jumping and the scene is set.

0:36:20 > 0:36:21Bullseye.

0:36:21 > 0:36:26Yeah! So that's the first set to Keith Deller.

0:36:26 > 0:36:30Eric, the Crafty Cockney, he thought he was on a winner.

0:36:30 > 0:36:32Tops for Deller.

0:36:33 > 0:36:37Game! That's the second set to Keith Deller.

0:36:37 > 0:36:39The Deller rampage.

0:36:39 > 0:36:42What a dart player!

0:36:44 > 0:36:49And, as the game went on, his head was going down a little,

0:36:49 > 0:36:51"What's happening here?"

0:36:51 > 0:36:54Thankfully, I was 2-1 up at the break,

0:36:54 > 0:36:57and I thought, then, "I'm 2-1 up now and Eric's got two hours now

0:36:57 > 0:37:00"to think he's not going to get it all his own way."

0:37:06 > 0:37:07Yes! 180!

0:37:11 > 0:37:12Game!

0:37:14 > 0:37:16The salute.

0:37:16 > 0:37:17I thought I got him,

0:37:17 > 0:37:22because he had seven darts at a double to beat me earlier on.

0:37:22 > 0:37:2464 to be champion of the world.

0:37:24 > 0:37:26The 64 that I missed, I could feel my lip,

0:37:26 > 0:37:28my hand was starting to shake a little bit.

0:37:28 > 0:37:30Double 16, for the title.

0:37:30 > 0:37:32CROWD: Ooh!

0:37:32 > 0:37:34When he's got three darts in his hand, he's thinking,

0:37:34 > 0:37:36"I can win this now, I can win this now."

0:37:36 > 0:37:4193. Double 9 for the world title.

0:37:44 > 0:37:47Double 4 for the title.

0:37:47 > 0:37:49CROWD: Aw!

0:37:49 > 0:37:52The two on double 2 were right on the wire.

0:37:52 > 0:37:53For the title, double 2.

0:37:54 > 0:37:55CROWD CHEERS

0:37:59 > 0:38:02And the one went across the other side of the wire,

0:38:02 > 0:38:05and I thought, "Jesus, that was a great chance."

0:38:08 > 0:38:10Everybody's getting the jitters now.

0:38:10 > 0:38:15Yes! That's the ninth set, to Eric Bristow!

0:38:18 > 0:38:21And then, Eric went "Aargh", like that, laughing,

0:38:21 > 0:38:23just to get in my head a little bit and then, the next set,

0:38:23 > 0:38:26I didn't even see it. I lost 3-0, cos I was still annoyed.

0:38:26 > 0:38:27Tops...goes in!

0:38:34 > 0:38:36Doing a Mick Jagger on the stage!

0:38:36 > 0:38:41And then, I lost the first leg with my darts in the deciding set

0:38:41 > 0:38:46and I just said to myself, "Right, you've done so well, just give it a go."

0:38:46 > 0:38:48Keith requires, 68.

0:38:53 > 0:38:55Double 16 for Deller. Yes!

0:38:59 > 0:39:01At two legs to one in the final set,

0:39:01 > 0:39:05Deller needed one more leg to become champion.

0:39:05 > 0:39:09He decided to play the board and not the man.

0:39:09 > 0:39:12He wins this leg, he becomes world champion.

0:39:17 > 0:39:19123!

0:39:19 > 0:39:21And then, I made a bit of a boo-boo.

0:39:23 > 0:39:25He's got to get this leg, Bristow.

0:39:27 > 0:39:29Bullseye.

0:39:29 > 0:39:31Played the percentage shot.

0:39:31 > 0:39:36He wanted 138 and, I thought, "Well, he bottled it earlier on

0:39:36 > 0:39:39with three darts in his hand twice." I thought,

0:39:39 > 0:39:42"138 is like bang, bang, bang - all over the place."

0:39:42 > 0:39:48If you wanted 136 - 60 60, double 8, I would have went for the bull,

0:39:48 > 0:39:52but 138 is like there, there and there,

0:39:52 > 0:39:56So, I thought, "I'll hit a big 18, leave 32, because I won't miss 32."

0:39:56 > 0:39:58He must be brain dead from the neck up.

0:39:58 > 0:40:01The youngster that he's playing against, Deller,

0:40:01 > 0:40:04is on the shot to win the championship.

0:40:04 > 0:40:09Eric says, "Oh, I'll go and throw an 18,

0:40:09 > 0:40:12"leave 32, because that's my favourite double."

0:40:12 > 0:40:14Well, you're in the championship and you've got 50 left

0:40:14 > 0:40:17and a dart in your hand, you don't take that chance.

0:40:21 > 0:40:24The shot's on for the title...

0:40:24 > 0:40:26Double 12 for the title...

0:40:26 > 0:40:28CROWD CHEERS

0:40:36 > 0:40:39Keith Deller of Ipswich, 23-year-old!

0:40:46 > 0:40:50Deller did the business. He's now the world champion!

0:40:50 > 0:40:54And he went out on 138, when Bristow had, more or less,

0:40:54 > 0:40:57told everybody that he didn't have a chance.

0:40:57 > 0:40:59And he went and did it. Amazing!

0:41:00 > 0:41:04But you see, terrific, isn't it? Isn't that a great bit of sport?

0:41:05 > 0:41:08Viewers would be back for more the following year,

0:41:08 > 0:41:09wouldn't they, after that?

0:41:12 > 0:41:14With over nine million television viewers,

0:41:14 > 0:41:21darts was a ratings sensation and Deller got a whiff of the big time.

0:41:21 > 0:41:24He took off on a victory tour of the country, with his manager,

0:41:24 > 0:41:29who believed that his young star had limitless marketing potential.

0:41:29 > 0:41:33He could advertise anything from Johnson's Baby Powder

0:41:33 > 0:41:38to cocaine, we're talking about that kind of range! All over.

0:41:38 > 0:41:44Clothes, sports equipment, food, soft drinks, breweries, anything.

0:41:45 > 0:41:49And the trappings of fame brought him a new legion of followers.

0:41:49 > 0:41:53Darts groupies are a new phenomenon in a sport where a man's prowess

0:41:53 > 0:41:56has usually been measured by the girth of his beer belly.

0:41:56 > 0:42:00Although it's probably heresy, Keith doesn't seem to mind

0:42:00 > 0:42:02the attention he's getting from women fans.

0:42:02 > 0:42:05I just hope Keith doesn't get big and fat,

0:42:05 > 0:42:09because you're so lovely and I've watched them over the years, getting

0:42:09 > 0:42:13bigger, these guys who play darts. I'll keep an eye on you, I think.

0:42:16 > 0:42:19One darts fan who had been keenly watching Deller's rise

0:42:19 > 0:42:21was Martin Amis.

0:42:23 > 0:42:28It's the drastic elevation into darts superstardom

0:42:28 > 0:42:32that made him come alive for me.

0:42:32 > 0:42:36He says, I can handle it. Publicity, fame - I can handle it.

0:42:38 > 0:42:42Amis was already drafting his new novel, London Fields, which was

0:42:42 > 0:42:46to explore the "delirium of darts" as he put it,

0:42:46 > 0:42:51and in preparation, he hung out with Deller, half expecting him

0:42:51 > 0:42:57to be sozzled in some roadhouse, smothered in tattoos and darts mags.

0:42:57 > 0:43:01I met Martin in Enfield, it was in a wine bar, my wife Kim

0:43:01 > 0:43:04and I, and we walked in, he said, "What would

0:43:04 > 0:43:08"you like to drink?" I said, "Can I have a sparkling water, please?"

0:43:08 > 0:43:11He had a pint, or half a lager and, in them days,

0:43:11 > 0:43:15you could smoke in the restaurants and he had a roll-up

0:43:15 > 0:43:19and he said, "I can't work this one out - there's you, slim, drinking

0:43:19 > 0:43:23"mineral water, there's me with a fag. it's the wrong way round here."

0:43:25 > 0:43:28Amis was to incorporate Keith's name and fame into his story

0:43:28 > 0:43:33of a young qualifier's rise to darting stardom, but his character,

0:43:33 > 0:43:37Keith Talent, owed as much to the author's own experience of the game.

0:43:37 > 0:43:42'A casual darter, or arrowman, all his life, right back to the

0:43:42 > 0:43:47'bald board on the kitchen door, Keith had recently got serious.

0:43:47 > 0:43:51'He'd always thrown for his pub, of course, and followed the sport,

0:43:51 > 0:43:56'you could almost hear angels singing when, on those special nights,

0:43:56 > 0:44:01'three or four times a week, Keith laid out the cigarettes on the arm of the couch

0:44:01 > 0:44:03'and prepared to watch darts on television.

0:44:05 > 0:44:10'But now he had designs on the other side of the screen.'

0:44:10 > 0:44:12And it was television,

0:44:12 > 0:44:15which had elevated the game and remained its lifeline,

0:44:15 > 0:44:19that now became the architect of its downfall.

0:44:19 > 0:44:26LWT had already dropped World of Sport and by 1988, Director of Programmes, Greg Dyke,

0:44:26 > 0:44:33decided to pull out of darts altogether, citing dwindling audience figures.

0:44:33 > 0:44:38The onus was now on BBC Two and its new controller, Alan Yentob.

0:44:38 > 0:44:42I would like him to assure the darts public that they're not

0:44:42 > 0:44:44being marked down as unfashionable.

0:44:44 > 0:44:47I have a schedule to fill and I have to accommodate the other

0:44:47 > 0:44:50interests, as well, so all I'd say to you is, be grateful I'm not

0:44:50 > 0:44:54Greg Dyke. I will do my best.

0:44:54 > 0:44:56And don't imagine that I'm not

0:44:56 > 0:45:00interested in the broader responsibilities of running

0:45:00 > 0:45:02a channel and not simply putting on what I want.

0:45:02 > 0:45:05A drop in TV coverage would mean a drop in prize money

0:45:05 > 0:45:07and far less exposure,

0:45:07 > 0:45:12but for Eric Bristow, there were more serious worries.

0:45:12 > 0:45:16He had been diagnosed with a debilitating condition called dartitis.

0:45:16 > 0:45:18Dartitis is when you go up there to throw a dart

0:45:18 > 0:45:21and you pull it back like that and instead of going like that,

0:45:21 > 0:45:25you go like that and you lock. It locks and you give it all this.

0:45:25 > 0:45:29I used to count how long it took for him to let his darts go,

0:45:29 > 0:45:31how many seconds it actually took to actually

0:45:31 > 0:45:32let his darts go.

0:45:33 > 0:45:35It was strange. It was a shame.

0:45:35 > 0:45:38Usually, the problem has been letting it go.

0:45:38 > 0:45:41If you watch it there and you watch it years ago,

0:45:41 > 0:45:42it was a lot more fluent.

0:45:42 > 0:45:45Well, with the magic of our VT department, we can do that.

0:45:45 > 0:45:49You haven't seen it yet, but this is you in 1985 on the left and today on the right,

0:45:49 > 0:45:52and just watch how quickly you release this first arrow.

0:45:52 > 0:45:57We've timed it, we think you're about a second and a half slower.

0:45:57 > 0:45:59There, it's gone, the first time, in 1985.

0:45:59 > 0:46:00Is there a doubt, something crops

0:46:00 > 0:46:03- into the back of your mind? - There's no doubt, all I want to do

0:46:03 > 0:46:07is let the bloody thing go and it's stuck in me hand. What can you do?

0:46:07 > 0:46:13I saw shrinks. You try anything. I tried fly fishing,

0:46:13 > 0:46:15because that's an arm sport. It's in the grey matter, mate.

0:46:15 > 0:46:19Trying to be perfect, too perfect. I should have just let it

0:46:19 > 0:46:22go as it was. It was going nicely, you know. You wanted to be better

0:46:22 > 0:46:24than what you are.

0:46:24 > 0:46:29Maureen came up with a plan to help Eric combat his condition.

0:46:29 > 0:46:32I said we should try and sponsor someone who was local,

0:46:32 > 0:46:34so as he could practice with him

0:46:34 > 0:46:39and, hopefully, then, it would get Eric back to how he was.

0:46:39 > 0:46:43Maureen's idea. I started practising

0:46:43 > 0:46:46and practising with people in the pub and I played four hours

0:46:46 > 0:46:49in the afternoon and four hours at night, to try and get rid of it.

0:46:49 > 0:46:52And there was one local lad who fancied his chances

0:46:52 > 0:46:55at Eric and Maureen's pub, The Crafty Cockney.

0:46:55 > 0:46:56Me and Yvonne went up the Crafty Cockney,

0:46:56 > 0:47:00I said, "Let's see what it's like, because we'd never been in."

0:47:00 > 0:47:02Maureen and Eric were doing an exhibition on stage

0:47:02 > 0:47:05against all-comers and we just watched them.

0:47:05 > 0:47:08I remember saying to Yvonne, "I could beat them",

0:47:08 > 0:47:10and that's how we started.

0:47:10 > 0:47:14Phil said, "I'll play with you," so he turned up in the afternoon -

0:47:14 > 0:47:18four hours, night, four hours - he was there every day.

0:47:18 > 0:47:21Maureen liked that, because it was getting me into darts again,

0:47:21 > 0:47:23because she knew what I was going through.

0:47:23 > 0:47:26It gave him a new lease of life. He was loving it.

0:47:27 > 0:47:28It was like a hobby for him.

0:47:30 > 0:47:33But the hobby became a business venture.

0:47:33 > 0:47:37In Taylor, Bristow recognised a hunger for success

0:47:37 > 0:47:39and an iron will to win and he decided to take Taylor on

0:47:39 > 0:47:43as his protege, sponsoring him for £9,000.

0:47:46 > 0:47:49The condition with Eric was that I paid him back.

0:47:49 > 0:47:50So, he would walk in a room,

0:47:50 > 0:47:52even now, if I was sitting down in a room and he walked in,

0:47:52 > 0:47:55I'd get up and start practising, because he would tell me off.

0:47:55 > 0:47:59He'd say, "What are you doing sitting down and talking to them?"

0:47:59 > 0:48:04"They're not your friends," he'd say, "You owe me 6,000..." He knew every penny,

0:48:04 > 0:48:09"£6,245.50 and you're sitting down talking? Get on that practise board."

0:48:09 > 0:48:12I said, "I'm going to...pay him back, I am."

0:48:12 > 0:48:15He'd ring me up, "I've done really well in this tournament, but got beat in the final."

0:48:15 > 0:48:18I said, "Ring me up when you've won," and I'd put the phone down.

0:48:18 > 0:48:23I'd say, "I lost in the final," "Ring me when you win, then." Bang.

0:48:23 > 0:48:27That's the way I was. Don't tell me you've come runner-up. It's no good.

0:48:27 > 0:48:29Anyway, it toughened him up.

0:48:32 > 0:48:36It had been ten years since Bristow's reign began

0:48:36 > 0:48:40and, even hampered by dartitis, he was still at the top of the game,

0:48:40 > 0:48:44but there was now a new pretender waiting in the wings.

0:48:44 > 0:48:45Eric had rang me and said,

0:48:45 > 0:48:48"You've qualified for the World Championships,

0:48:48 > 0:48:54"and you're last place to get in." I think I was 32nd to get in.

0:48:54 > 0:48:56Taylor coasted through the early rounds,

0:48:56 > 0:49:01before crushing big Cliff Lazarenko 5-0 in the semifinal.

0:49:01 > 0:49:05I remember coming off stage after beating Cliff,

0:49:05 > 0:49:10going into the toilets, crying me eyes out, Eric come in,

0:49:10 > 0:49:14shut the door, come in, he's crying, we're both crying in the toilet,

0:49:14 > 0:49:17got the door locked and I said, "Did I win?" He said, "Yeah."

0:49:17 > 0:49:19I said, "What are we crying for, then?"

0:49:19 > 0:49:22He went, "I don't know," and he won't admit it,

0:49:22 > 0:49:26but it's true, the big softie. We'd drawn each other in the final.

0:49:26 > 0:49:29He's learnt me, he's taught me, he's sponsored me.

0:49:29 > 0:49:33- Taught him too much. - That might be the danger. Can the pupil beat the master?

0:49:33 > 0:49:38I'm looking forward to it. It's been his little dream, Eric's dream, as well

0:49:38 > 0:49:44- as mine, but tomorrow, I hope it's his nightmare!- It won't be.

0:49:44 > 0:49:47But I did have that little thing in the back of my mind, thinking,

0:49:47 > 0:49:49"Right you, all those phone calls, all that time you told me

0:49:49 > 0:49:52"I owed you money, I'm going to get you now."

0:49:52 > 0:49:55Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, the 1990 Embassy Final.

0:49:55 > 0:49:58First set, first leg.

0:50:00 > 0:50:04The unique Bristow stance, like a praying mantis.

0:50:08 > 0:50:11100!

0:50:13 > 0:50:17This is a slack, slack opening leg by Phil.

0:50:17 > 0:50:18Double 10, for first blood.

0:50:20 > 0:50:21CROWD CHEERS

0:50:21 > 0:50:22That's the first game.

0:50:22 > 0:50:26Phil, you require 170.

0:50:26 > 0:50:30The shot's on, he wants another 60.

0:50:30 > 0:50:32He wants the bull for the set.

0:50:34 > 0:50:35Brilliant!

0:50:38 > 0:50:39Double 18.

0:50:45 > 0:50:49Give him a sniff, he'll take a mile.

0:50:49 > 0:50:52Taylor is trying to save set two.

0:50:57 > 0:50:59140!

0:50:59 > 0:51:00Double 16.

0:51:06 > 0:51:07One set each!

0:51:08 > 0:51:10The final, cooking up well.

0:51:10 > 0:51:15For two sets, Bristow remained in the hunt, but then Taylor unleashed

0:51:15 > 0:51:18his now legendary power.

0:51:18 > 0:51:19180!

0:51:20 > 0:51:22He wants tops for the set.

0:51:24 > 0:51:26180!

0:51:26 > 0:51:28Picks his times, Taylor.

0:51:28 > 0:51:29Giving Eric pain.

0:51:29 > 0:51:32Phil Taylor!

0:51:32 > 0:51:34Bristow's won this trophy five times.

0:51:34 > 0:51:36What must be going on in Eric's brain here?

0:51:36 > 0:51:38Double 16.

0:51:41 > 0:51:45- 32.- That's been the story of this match.

0:51:45 > 0:51:47CROWD CHEERS

0:51:47 > 0:51:50Double top for the title.

0:51:52 > 0:51:53Double 10.

0:51:55 > 0:51:57Ooh! Pressure is there.

0:51:57 > 0:51:58Had his chance.

0:52:00 > 0:52:01Double 16.

0:52:07 > 0:52:09He turned round, he said, "You should've took your chance,

0:52:09 > 0:52:11you're not champion yet."

0:52:11 > 0:52:15Eric wouldn't give in. He hit a 180 and then he mumbled something at me.

0:52:15 > 0:52:16He'll fight.

0:52:19 > 0:52:20180!

0:52:21 > 0:52:24Yes, still smiling.

0:52:24 > 0:52:26"Have that, you little shit", or something like that.

0:52:26 > 0:52:28He would, that was Eric.

0:52:28 > 0:52:31He would try every trick in the book to try and get at you.

0:52:31 > 0:52:33But back comes Taylor.

0:52:37 > 0:52:39Oh, yes. He turns round to the crowd.

0:52:41 > 0:52:44But that's Phil and that's the sign of a good player,

0:52:44 > 0:52:48to hit a 180 after someone has hit one.

0:52:48 > 0:52:50They think they're getting away with a leg

0:52:50 > 0:52:54and he's just saying, "You haven't gone anywhere, I'm still here."

0:52:54 > 0:52:5618s for Bristow.

0:52:57 > 0:52:58Double 16.

0:53:00 > 0:53:04And then, he swings the pressure, with him throwing three darts,

0:53:04 > 0:53:06you're a bit wary again.

0:53:07 > 0:53:11He's missed. The story of the match.

0:53:11 > 0:53:14Phil requires 49.

0:53:14 > 0:53:18Will it be 17 or 9? We'll see.

0:53:18 > 0:53:21Double top. Yes, for the title.

0:53:21 > 0:53:22Double 10.

0:53:25 > 0:53:26It's there!

0:53:28 > 0:53:30He jumps up, he shakes hands with Bristow.

0:53:30 > 0:53:35Bristow, the champion in the '80s.

0:53:35 > 0:53:39Phil Taylor, the champion in the '90s.

0:53:39 > 0:53:42He was absolutely brilliant. He came onto that stage,

0:53:42 > 0:53:45he took it over and, to be quite honest with you,

0:53:45 > 0:53:49what he's done for the sport, no-one else can do.

0:53:49 > 0:53:51He's just fantastic.

0:53:52 > 0:53:57And it needed that, it was at the time when it was needed.

0:53:57 > 0:53:59Yeah, darts was on a decline, then.

0:53:59 > 0:54:04It took me maybe six or seven times being world champion to make

0:54:04 > 0:54:05a name for myself.

0:54:11 > 0:54:14Taylor's rise had taken place against a backdrop of mounting

0:54:14 > 0:54:16unrest in the game.

0:54:16 > 0:54:20For the top players, dismayed by the drop off in TV coverage

0:54:20 > 0:54:23and prize money and less exposure,

0:54:23 > 0:54:27it was the British Darts Organisation who were to blame.

0:54:27 > 0:54:31We had a meeting with the BDO and they sent me in as a spokesman

0:54:31 > 0:54:36for the darts players, and I said to Olly, "We've got three questions."

0:54:36 > 0:54:39"First of all," I said, "can you guarantee us

0:54:39 > 0:54:41"more than one tournament a year on TV?"

0:54:41 > 0:54:42He said, "No."

0:54:42 > 0:54:45Second one, "Would you mind if we run our own tournaments?"

0:54:45 > 0:54:49Sky wanted to come in and we had contacts to run a tournament,

0:54:49 > 0:54:52and he said, "Yes", and then my last question was, "OK, if we did

0:54:52 > 0:54:55"run our own tournament, what would happen?"

0:54:55 > 0:54:57And he said, "We'll ban you."

0:54:57 > 0:55:00So, I said, "thank you very much." That was the end of the meeting.

0:55:00 > 0:55:03If ITV and BBC were dropping it, there was nothing

0:55:03 > 0:55:08I could do except settle back and these things don't happen overnight.

0:55:08 > 0:55:11You've got to plan it and work through it,

0:55:11 > 0:55:14but they weren't prepared to wait on that one.

0:55:14 > 0:55:16I couldn't guarantee anything.

0:55:16 > 0:55:20I can't guarantee them TV, unless the TV guaranteed it to us.

0:55:20 > 0:55:22And that was it, it was like a stand-off.

0:55:22 > 0:55:25In our eyes, they weren't trying.

0:55:25 > 0:55:27You've got to set the right people on.

0:55:27 > 0:55:29Olly Croft had had it great, don't get me wrong,

0:55:29 > 0:55:31but he wasn't the right man, then.

0:55:31 > 0:55:35We needed professional people to go out there and try and find it.

0:55:35 > 0:55:39The banned players - 16 rebels - struck out.

0:55:39 > 0:55:43And in 1992, formed a breakaway organisation, eventually called

0:55:43 > 0:55:46the Professional Darts Corporation.

0:55:46 > 0:55:49Since then, these two bodies, the BDO and the PDC,

0:55:49 > 0:55:53have co-existed, mounting their own rival world championships.

0:55:58 > 0:56:01Sky Sports, with its shiny, glossy graphics

0:56:01 > 0:56:05and slick American-style coverage, would resurrect darts on TV,

0:56:05 > 0:56:10giving the breakaway PDC the platform it needed.

0:56:10 > 0:56:14It was great. It was like a breath of fresh air, with the music

0:56:14 > 0:56:16and the flashing lights, and the models walking on with us,

0:56:16 > 0:56:20the bouncers round you, the crowd were right there, all slapping you,

0:56:20 > 0:56:24we got jostled about a bit. It was great, it was like a new beginning.

0:56:28 > 0:56:32With darts back on the small screen, it's now coming to the big screen,

0:56:32 > 0:56:36in an adaptation of London Fields, by Martin Amis.

0:56:38 > 0:56:44And for one of the film's A-listers, the author had some special advice.

0:56:44 > 0:56:48There was talk of Johnny Depp playing Keith Talent's deadly enemy

0:56:48 > 0:56:51and I told one of the producers to have him hang out

0:56:51 > 0:56:57with Bobby George and use his actor's intuition

0:56:57 > 0:57:00and that he didn't need to meet any other player.

0:57:00 > 0:57:01Bobby George would do it.

0:57:01 > 0:57:09More than any of them, he has that, kind of, carny glamour

0:57:09 > 0:57:15and one gathers that he has lived the darts lifestyle to the full.

0:57:15 > 0:57:19So, I met this other actor, and he's Johnny Depp!

0:57:19 > 0:57:23I said, "It's Christmas every day for me." He said, "You what?"

0:57:23 > 0:57:26I said, "Every day is Christmas Day."

0:57:26 > 0:57:28He said, "What a lovely saying,"

0:57:28 > 0:57:32"Christmas Day is every day for me. Can I use that?"

0:57:32 > 0:57:34I said, "Use what?"

0:57:34 > 0:57:37"That Christmas Day is every day for me", I said, "Yeah,"

0:57:37 > 0:57:41and he had to say... This bloke interviewed him, said, "Are you going to win?"

0:57:41 > 0:57:44"Win? Of course I'm going to win, it's Christmas every day for me."

0:57:44 > 0:57:46I taught him to swear in Cockney, as well.

0:57:49 > 0:57:52And as Hollywood delves into the smoky world of pubs, money races

0:57:52 > 0:57:57and competition darts, the game's most famous player is back

0:57:57 > 0:58:02on the road, taking on all-comers and still throwing good arrows.

0:58:02 > 0:58:04MUSIC: Rabbit by Chas & Dave

0:58:04 > 0:58:07# You got a beautiful chin

0:58:07 > 0:58:10# You got beautiful skin

0:58:10 > 0:58:14# You've got a beautiful face

0:58:14 > 0:58:18# You've got taste

0:58:18 > 0:58:20# You've got beautiful eyes

0:58:20 > 0:58:24# You've got beautiful thighs... #

0:58:24 > 0:58:27I love darts, it's in my blood, mate. Been great to me.

0:58:27 > 0:58:30If I died ten years ago, it was great to me.

0:58:30 > 0:58:32I'm on bonus time.

0:58:32 > 0:58:34# You won't stop talkin'

0:58:34 > 0:58:37# Why don't you give it a rest?

0:58:39 > 0:58:41# You got more rabbit than Sainsbury's

0:58:41 > 0:58:44# It's time you got it off your chest

0:58:46 > 0:58:50# Now you is just the kind of girl to break my heart in two

0:58:50 > 0:58:53# I knew right off when I first clapped my eyes on you

0:58:53 > 0:58:57# But how was I to know you'd bend my earholes too

0:58:57 > 0:58:59# With your incessant talkin'

0:58:59 > 0:59:02# You're becoming a pest

0:59:02 > 0:59:03# Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit, rabbit

0:59:03 > 0:59:05# Rabbit, rabbit, yap-yap, rabbit

0:59:05 > 0:59:07# Yap-yap, rabbit, rabbit, bunny, jabber

0:59:07 > 0:59:08# Rabbit, rabbit, jabber, yap-yap

0:59:08 > 0:59:11# Yap-yap, rabbit, rabbit, bunny jabber, rabbit. #

0:59:12 > 0:59:14May the darts be with you.