Episode 36: The PDC World Darts Championship - "This darts match will make you happy!"

Every Christmas thousands cram into Alexandra Palace in fancy dress to scream in unison at a little black, white, red and green board on the wall. In this episode, we trace how that surreal festive tradition came to be - from darts as a pub pastime, through the birth of the televised World Championship, to the civil war that split the game and created the PDC’s neon-lit circus at Ally Pally.

Along the way we meet the swaggering heroes and fragile geniuses of the oche - Bristow, Jocky, Taylor and Barney through to van Gerwen, Smith, Humphries and Littler - and dig into how walk-ons, nicknames, Sky money, global tours and life-changing prize cheques turned a smoky, working-class obsession into a worldwide Christmas staple.

It’s  ...