Darts’ pantomime villain wore Ann Summers ear muffs to drown out boos

The authentic pantomime villain of darts as soon as donned a pair of Ann Summers ear muffs to drown out boos earlier than a match.

Back within the 2000s, Peter Manley, a three-time World Championship finalist, was the participant darts followers beloved to hate following his notorious run-ins within the with the likes of Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis.

But as an alternative of being offended, Manley labored with the gang, with the barracking he acquired changing into the norm and even an indication of respect. Manley, now 61, tried a number of comedy stunts to fight the boos.

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They included sporting a pair of ear muffs purchased from Ann Summers, the well-known distributor of intercourse toys and lingerie, for a walk-on on the World Matchplay in Blackpool one yr.

“My wife got them from Anne Summers!” he recollects throughout an interview with Daily Star Sport. “I couldn’t untangle them so she had to hold them ready for me to put them on. It was quite funny really. It was a jokey way of drowning out the booing.”

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Another walk-on, at PDC World Championship on the Circus Tavern, noticed him convey the home down by marching to the stage like Paul Kay to Tony Christie’s ‘Is This The Way to Amarillo’, which was re-released for charity within the mid-2000s.

“It was my wife’s idea,” provides Manley. “They’d have a bit of a sing-song, then they’d boo! It helped make me more of a pantomime villain rather than someone they were destined to hate.

“The trouble is, people still want me to do it at exhibitions now. I’m in my 60s now so it’s getting a bit harder. It takes me about 10 minutes to recover!”