Tributes paid after ‘voice of darts’ 
Sid Waddell dies

Former players and sports stars and fans queued up to pay tribute yesterday to the broadcaster and author who died on Saturday night, surrounded by his family.

A measure of his far-reaching popularity was the volume of Twitter tributes. “Sad news to hear about sid waddell. Made darts so much better to watch. He will be missed. Legend,” tweeted footballer Wayne Rooney.

John Prescott, the former deputy prime minister, added: “Farewell to Sid Waddell – a man who did so much for darts and voiced so many memorable moments. A double top bloke.”

Waddell, who had recently moved from Pudsey to Harrogate to be closer to family, was the “voice of darts” for more than three decades and known for his colourful commentary style, with his best-known lines including “There’s only one word for it – ‘magic darts’.”

While watching Eric Bristow become world champion, he noted: “When Alexander of Macedonia was 33, he cried salt tears because there were no more worlds to conquer – Bristow’s only 27.”

In addition, he has had 11 books published and wrote the sport-based BBC children’s programmes Jossy’s Giants and Sloggers. The son of a Northumberland miner, Waddell, who is survived by his wife Irene and the couple’s five children, studied at Cambridge University before joining Granada Television, where he worked with Michael Parkinson.

He then moved to Yorkshire Television in 1968 where he created the show Indoor League, which featured pub games including darts, and also devised children’s series The Flaxton Boys, which ran for three years.

Despite his illness, he was still commentating until earlier this year and his son, Dan, said: “It’s very surreal to see the likes of John Prescott and Wayne Rooney paying tribute Even people who couldn’t stand darts would watch it for his commentary. But to us he will always be an amazing husband, father and grandfather.”