Showbiz Darts
Encyclopedia
Showbiz Darts was a British
televised celebrity
darts
tournament which first aired in 2006 on the digital television channel Challenge. It was presented by Sarah Cawood
, with famous darts stage host Martin Fitzmaurice
, referee George Noble and commentator Tony Green
.
It was recorded in two sessions on July 20, 2006 at the Lakeside Country Club, home of the World Professional Darts Championship
.
The celebrities that competed in the tournament were Michael Le Vell
, Vicki Butler-Henderson
, Roland Rivron, Holly Willoughby
, Phil Tufnell
, Keith Chegwin
, James Hewitt
and Johnny Vegas
.
Rowland Right Here Rivron
Johnny The Saint Vegas
Keith Cheggers Chegwin
Vicki The Vixen Butler-Henderson
Phil The Cat Tufnell
James The Galloping Major Hewitt
Michael Spirit Le Vell
Holly Hard to Beat Willoughby
and Bobby George
who trained their respective teams in preparation for the event. The darts professional trained their team members at very different venues: Andy trained his team at "The Rose", a Dartford
pub
that he runs with his wife, while Bobby trained his at his mansion, George Hall, near Colchester
.
The four players from Fordham's group competed against each other in a round-robin
format and the four players from George's group did the same. The matches consisted of one-leg where the first to reach exactly 501 wins two points. In the event that no player checked out in the time allocated for the match, then the winner was the player who achieved the highest score with 3 darts in a sudden-death shootout.
These points were recorded in each team's league table and the top two contenders in each group will then progress to the semi-finals and then the final, where the champion was awarded the Showbiz Darts 2006 trophy.
October 2: Rowland Rivron beat Johnny Vegas in sudden-death shootout
October 4: Keith Chegwin beat Vicki Butler-Henderson (winning dart double 7)
October 6: Vicki Butler-Henderson beat Rowland Rivron (winning dart double 6)
October 10: Johnny Vegas beat Keith Chegwin (checkout 32 - single 16, double 8)
October 12: Keith Chegwin beat Rowland Rivron (winning dart double 2)
October 16: Johnny Vegas beat Vicki Butler-Henderson (checkout 47 - single 15, double 16)
Vegas plays Chegwin in semi-final
Bobby George's Group
October 3: James Hewitt beat Phil Tufnell (winning dart double 1)
October 5: Michael Le Vell beat Holly Willoughby (winning dart double 17)
October 9: Michael Le Vell beat Phil Tufnell (winning dart double 1)
October 11: James Hewitt beat Holly Willoughby (winning dart double 1)
October 13: Phil Tufnell beat Holly Willoughby (winning dart double 4)
October 17: Michael Le Vell beat James Hewitt (checkout 23 - single 15, double 4)
Hewitt plays Le Vell in semi-final
Semi Finals
October 18 Johnny Vegas beat Keith Chegwin (winning dart double 1)
October 19 Michael Le Vell beat James Hewitt (winning dart double 1)
Final
October 20 Michael Le Vell (Bobby George's Group) beat Johnny Vegas (Andy Fordham's Group) by 2 legs to 1.
Vegas won the first leg in 47 darts (on double 8), Le Vell the second in 53 (on double 7) and the last in 28 (on double 16).
Three Dart Averages Le Vell 35.60 Vegas 35.21
presenter DP Fitzgerald where they discussed their game and coaching, as well as celebrity gossip. There was also a daily darts challenge between the two team captains, Bobby George and Andy Fordham.
audience viewing figures website http://www.barb.co.uk/viewingsummary/weekreports.cfm?report=weeklytop30&requesttimeout=500 reports the top 10 programmes for each multi-channel television station. It lists Showbiz Darts' sister show, Extra Arrows, as reaching the top 10 programmes on several occasions - however the main programme was broadcast at 10:30pm, so this could possibly be mis-reporting.
British television
Public television broadcasting started in the United Kingdom in 1936, and now has a collection of free and subscription services over a variety of distribution media, through which there are over 480 channelsTaking the base Sky EPG TV Channels. A breakdown is impossible due to a) the number of...
televised celebrity
Celebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
darts
Darts
Darts is a form of throwing game where darts are thrown at a circular target fixed to a wall. Though various boards and games have been used in the past, the term "darts" usually now refers to a standardised game involving a specific board design and set of rules...
tournament which first aired in 2006 on the digital television channel Challenge. It was presented by Sarah Cawood
Sarah Cawood
Sarah Cawood is an English television presenter.-Career:Cawood grew up in the Cambridgeshire village of Maxey and was educated at Stamford High School, Lincolnshire near Peterborough, United Kingdom. She also attended the Royal Ballet School and Arts Educational Schools London.Between 1995 and...
, with famous darts stage host Martin Fitzmaurice
Martin Fitzmaurice
Martin Fitzmaurice is an English darts master of ceremonies, caller, scorer and referee who has operated for one of the game's governing bodies the British Darts Organisation since 1985....
, referee George Noble and commentator Tony Green
Tony Green
Tony Green is a darts commentator for the British Darts Organisation on the BBC. He is also a former referee and master of ceremonies and was also co-host of the hit darts quiz show Bullseye on ITV alongside Jim Bowen and the show revived in 2006 on Challenge with Dave Spikey.- Darts career :A...
.
It was recorded in two sessions on July 20, 2006 at the Lakeside Country Club, home of the World Professional Darts Championship
World Professional Darts Championship
The World Professional Darts Championship is one of the most important tournaments in the darts calendar. Originally held as an annual event between 1978 and 1993, players then broke off into two separate organisations after a controversial split in the game...
.
The celebrities that competed in the tournament were Michael Le Vell
Michael Le Vell
Michael Le Vell is an English character actor, who since 1983 has played the role of garage mechanic, Kevin Webster, in the soap opera Coronation Street....
, Vicki Butler-Henderson
Vicki Butler-Henderson
Victoria "Vicki" Butler-Henderson is a racing driver and television presenter.-Biography:Butler-Henderson was born into a racing family. Her grandfather used to race a Frazer Nash at Brooklands, her father was in the British karting team and her brother Charlie is a racing driver. She has an older...
, Roland Rivron, Holly Willoughby
Holly Willoughby
Holly Marie Willoughby is an English television presenter and model, known for her work in presenting children's TV and entertainment shows. In her early career she modelled underwear and went on to present CD:UK...
, Phil Tufnell
Phil Tufnell
Philip Clive Roderick Tufnell is a former English cricketer turned television personality. A slow left-arm orthodox spin bowler, "Tuffers" as he was known played 42 Tests and 20 One Day International matches for England, as well as playing for Middlesex from 1986 to 2002...
, Keith Chegwin
Keith Chegwin
Keith Chegwin is an English television presenter, former child actor and singer.-Early career:Chegwin's early roles were in works of the Children's Film Foundation, appearing as Egghead Wentworth in The Troublesome Double Egghead's Robot . He also appeared as a stowaway in Doomwatch episode...
, James Hewitt
James Hewitt
James Hewitt is a former British household cavalry officer in the British Army. He had an affair with Diana, Princess of Wales for five years, receiving extensive media coverage after revealing details of the affair.-Early life:...
and Johnny Vegas
Johnny Vegas
Johnny Vegas is an English actor and comedian. He is known for his angry rants, portly figure, high husky voice and support of St Helens rugby league club. More recently he has moved into dramatic acting.-Early life:He was born in St Helens, Lancashire, the youngest of four children of Laurence...
.
Nicknames
In keeping with darting tradition, the celebrities were given or adopted nicknames.Rowland Right Here Rivron
Johnny The Saint Vegas
Keith Cheggers Chegwin
Vicki The Vixen Butler-Henderson
Phil The Cat Tufnell
James The Galloping Major Hewitt
Michael Spirit Le Vell
Holly Hard to Beat Willoughby
Format
The eight celebrities were split into two groups of four, each captained by top darts professionals Andy FordhamAndy Fordham
Andy "The Viking" Fordham is an English darts player. He won the 2004 BDO World Darts Championship, beating Mervyn King in the final...
and Bobby George
Bobby George
Robert Francis George is an English darts player and presenter. He is widely recognised as one of the game's biggest personalities, known for his flamboyant entrances in which the "King of Darts" makes his way to the stage bedecked in jewellery, wearing a crown and cloak and holding a candelabra...
who trained their respective teams in preparation for the event. The darts professional trained their team members at very different venues: Andy trained his team at "The Rose", a Dartford
Dartford
Dartford is the principal town in the borough of Dartford. It is situated in the northwest corner of Kent, England, east south-east of central London....
pub
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
that he runs with his wife, while Bobby trained his at his mansion, George Hall, near Colchester
Colchester
Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
.
The four players from Fordham's group competed against each other in a round-robin
Round-robin tournament
A round-robin tournament is a competition "in which each contestant meets all other contestants in turn".-Terminology:...
format and the four players from George's group did the same. The matches consisted of one-leg where the first to reach exactly 501 wins two points. In the event that no player checked out in the time allocated for the match, then the winner was the player who achieved the highest score with 3 darts in a sudden-death shootout.
These points were recorded in each team's league table and the top two contenders in each group will then progress to the semi-finals and then the final, where the champion was awarded the Showbiz Darts 2006 trophy.
Results and Broadcast Dates
Andy Fordham's GroupOctober 2: Rowland Rivron beat Johnny Vegas in sudden-death shootout
October 4: Keith Chegwin beat Vicki Butler-Henderson (winning dart double 7)
October 6: Vicki Butler-Henderson beat Rowland Rivron (winning dart double 6)
October 10: Johnny Vegas beat Keith Chegwin (checkout 32 - single 16, double 8)
October 12: Keith Chegwin beat Rowland Rivron (winning dart double 2)
October 16: Johnny Vegas beat Vicki Butler-Henderson (checkout 47 - single 15, double 16)
Vegas plays Chegwin in semi-final
Bobby George's Group
October 3: James Hewitt beat Phil Tufnell (winning dart double 1)
October 5: Michael Le Vell beat Holly Willoughby (winning dart double 17)
October 9: Michael Le Vell beat Phil Tufnell (winning dart double 1)
October 11: James Hewitt beat Holly Willoughby (winning dart double 1)
October 13: Phil Tufnell beat Holly Willoughby (winning dart double 4)
October 17: Michael Le Vell beat James Hewitt (checkout 23 - single 15, double 4)
Hewitt plays Le Vell in semi-final
Semi Finals
October 18 Johnny Vegas beat Keith Chegwin (winning dart double 1)
October 19 Michael Le Vell beat James Hewitt (winning dart double 1)
Final
October 20 Michael Le Vell (Bobby George's Group) beat Johnny Vegas (Andy Fordham's Group) by 2 legs to 1.
Vegas won the first leg in 47 darts (on double 8), Le Vell the second in 53 (on double 7) and the last in 28 (on double 16).
Three Dart Averages Le Vell 35.60 Vegas 35.21
- Phil Tufnell hit 120, the highest 3-dart score of the tournament, during his defeat to Michael Le Vell broadcast on October 9. Tufnell also managed the best leg of the group phase, with a 34 darter (average 44.21) against Holly Willoughby in his last group match. Despite these two statistics, he failed to qualify for the semi-finals.
- The highest checkout was achieved by Johnny Vegas who finished with 47 (single 15, double 16 and a dart to spare) in his last group game on October 16.
- Holly Willoughby was the only player who failed to win a single match in the competition, Michael Le Vell managed to win all five of his matches en-route to the title.
Showbiz Darts: Extra Arrows
After each episode of the main programme, the celebrities featured on Showbiz Darts: Extra Arrows, a half-hour spin-off show hosted by former MTVMTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
presenter DP Fitzgerald where they discussed their game and coaching, as well as celebrity gossip. There was also a daily darts challenge between the two team captains, Bobby George and Andy Fordham.
Viewing figures
The BARBBarb
Barb may refer to:* A backward-facing point on a fish hook or similar implement, rendering extraction from the victim's flesh more difficult* Wind barbs for each station on a map of reported weather conditions...
audience viewing figures website http://www.barb.co.uk/viewingsummary/weekreports.cfm?report=weeklytop30&requesttimeout=500 reports the top 10 programmes for each multi-channel television station. It lists Showbiz Darts' sister show, Extra Arrows, as reaching the top 10 programmes on several occasions - however the main programme was broadcast at 10:30pm, so this could possibly be mis-reporting.
- Viewing Figures where available.
-
- Monday October 2 - 124,000 (1st for the week on Challenge)
- Tuesday October 3 - 121,000 (3rd)
- Wednesday October 4 - 86,000 (6th)
- Thursday October 5 - 102,000 (4th)
- Friday October 6 - 124,000 (2nd)
- 2nd week
- Monday October 9 - 96,000 (2nd for the week on Challenge)
- Tuesday October 10 - 96,000 (3rd)
- Wednesday October 11 - 64,000 (8th)
- Shows for Thursday October 12 & Friday October 13 failed to reach top 10 achieving less than 61,000 viewers.
- Final week
- Monday October 16 - 68,000 (9th for the week on Challenge)
- Tuesday October 17 - 79,000 (5th)
- Wednesday October 18 - 84,000 (4th)
- Thursday October 19 - 79,000 (6th)
- Friday October 20 (The Final) - 94,000 (2nd)