The late Andy Fordham was loved by darts fans but suffered from serious health issues throughout his World Championship-winning career
Darts hero Andy Fordham admitted he would drink a crate of beer and more every day before he collapsed at the 2007 BDO World Darts Championship. The Viking was adored by fans but suffered from health problems throughout his world-title-winning career.
The late Fordham will be remembered fondly by darts fans for his kind demeanour and his remarkable 2004 BDO Worlds run, where he bested Raymond van Barneveld before defeating Mervyn King in the final to lift the trophy.
But the year he won this crown, Fordham weighed a reported 31 stone and he admitted poor diet and drinking habits were the reason for his health issues. Three years after he lifted the trophy aloft, Fordham collapsed at the 2007 Championships and was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver. His condition was severe enough to bring on a minor stroke and he spent three weeks in hospital.
“The day I was going to play I walked over to the venue from my hotel and had to stop about seven times for air. I couldn’t breathe properly,” Fordham told the Irish Independent.
“I was left crying in the venue because I just didn’t know what was wrong and had to go out the back and tell one of the officials I just couldn’t play.
“My memories from there are pretty patchy. I don’t remember the ambulance being called or going into the hospital, except that the nurse had to cover my face to stop the paparazzi taking pictures. I was on death’s door.”
Fordham took a break from darts after this ordeal and lost 17 stone. He continued to play on both the BDO and PDC until 2018, but his long health battle saw him hospitalised in 2021. He died from organ failure at the age of 59.
“It’s hard to put my finger on how much I was drinking. It was certainly every day and everybody around me said I must have been drinking at least a crate of beer and a couple of bottles of wine a day, plus spirits,” Fordham said.
“In hindsight, towards the end it got really bad but I just didn’t think I was doing anything wrong. Getting a liver problem is one of those things you just don’t think is going to happen to you, but unfortunately it did.
“Ironically, believe it or not, I actually played darts and started drinking through football. We used to go training on a Wednesday night and a few of the lads played in a darts team afterwards. One night they were a man short so I stepped in. I was crap but really enjoyed it. The atmosphere was good, I had a few beers and a good laugh, so I kept at it.
“I don’t know if I’d have drunk so much if I hadn’t played darts. For me drinking has a lot to do with my nerves, especially with the spirits. The first time I qualified for Lakeside I got so nervous in the build-up, as I realised there’d be a big crowd watching, I started to drink more and more and more.
“You get different sort of alcoholics. I wasn’t one that woke up in the morning needing a drink. The way I was, was that everything I did was an excuse to have a drink. Whether it was a darts match, or something like getting on a plane or meeting someone, I’d have to have a drink first so I’d be in the bar two hours beforehand.”