Sky Sports’ Emma Paton is one of the UK’s leading sports presenters and has been a regular fixture on our screens throughout the PDC World Darts Championships
Emma Paton, of Sky Sports darts fame, once openly declared her love for Manchester United.
The much-loved host has become a familiar face on UK screens throughout the World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace. Over recent years, she has also taken the helm for other major darts competitions, such as the Premier League and World Matchplay.
While Paton has hosted many sports for the broadcaster, she seems to have truly found her niche within the world of darts. For those wondering which side of the football divide she falls on, however, the answer became public knowledge during an outing to the Women’s FA Cup final in 2023 when United faced off with Chelsea.
Before the match kicked off, Paton shared a selfie strolling down Wembley Way donning a United jersey. She excitedly stated, “Wembley bound! Come on @ManUtdWomen!!,” making her support abundantly clear.
Paton may have charmed audiences with her impressive knowledge and calm presentation skills, but what may come as a surprise to many is that her confidence in anchoring might hail from her athletic background. Before entering the realm of sports journalism, Paton was a force to be reckoned with on the athletics track, competing at an Olympic level in the 400 meters, reports the Mirror.
“Some of the best years of my life were spent training at Loughborough University and mixing with arguably the best 400-metre runners in the country,” she once said. It seems her move to Sky was a masterstroke, however.
“I’ve been at Sky for 12 years, working longer behind the camera than in front of it, seven years on the production team at Good Morning Sports Fans (Sky Sports News’ breakfast show,) getting up at 3am to edit interviews, prepare scripts and design graphics,” she said about her journey.
Clarifying how she carved out a niche in darts, she added: “My dream was to be a Sky Sports presenter, not to be sat in newsroom cutting Jose Mourinho press conferences into 20-second clips, and I spent years literally knocking on doors to see if there was an opportunity.
“I owe a lot of what I do now to a guy called Rory Hopkins, who produced the darts for decades on Sky. When Dave Clark, who presented our coverage so brilliantly for so long, decided to take a step back from doing it, I remember getting an email from Rory which simply said, ‘Do you like darts?’
“And I thought, ‘Darts? Yeah, OK… it’s a sport I hadn’t worked in before and I’ve followed a legend, which is what Clarky is, and I was diving into a whole new environment.”
Stepping into the role after Clark hung up his mic at Sky in 2020, Paton also had to succeed another fan-favourite, Laura Woods, who was a familiar face on Sky’s darts broadcasts. But what began as just a job has blossomed into a full-blown passion.
“I’ve always been a darts fan, but nothing like I am now, doing every major event for Sky,” Paton shared before the 2024 World Championship kicked off.
Many in the darts community, including the sport’s rising star Luke Littler, share Paton’s allegiance to Ruben Amorim’s United. The young prodigy, a lifelong United supporter, found fame swiftly during last year’s PDC World Championship and was subsequently invited to meet the Red Devils’ first team at Carrington.
Littler even snagged a VIP spot at a Premier League match against Tottenham at Old Trafford in January of the previous year, where he rubbed shoulders with United legend Sir Alex Ferguson. Paton is all set to present the Championships as the action intensifies tonight (Thursday, January 2).
‘The Nuke’ is on a mission to reach the final again and claim the title that eluded him last year. However, Stephen Bunting, a die-hard Liverpool supporter, stands in his path.
The teen sensation dispatched Nathan Aspinall in the quarter-finals on New Year’s Day and is now gearing up to challenge the player who dashed Peter Wright’s hopes. Meanwhile, Michael van Gerwen is preparing to face Chris Dobey in the other semi-final clash.