Tuesday 25 December 2018 18:50, UK
Comedian, activist, brain box, actor… anything else? Stephen Fry’s passion for darts is as important to him as the other pursuits for which he is better known.
It is eight years since Fry sat alongside Sid Waddell in the commentary box to oversee Premier League Darts in a moment that has not aged. It showed both men at their wittiest and happiest and helped the spread of darts to new audiences.
"When I first came out with my love of darts, people said: 'but you have to be working class to like darts - now darts will be ruined by the middle class!'
"My friends said: 'isn't it all thugs? You went to a darts match? Did you have security?'"
Darts has been a constant through Fry's most joyous times but also his most difficult. Last year, the seat he would have filled at the World Darts Championship was left conspicuously empty.
"The world doesn't know this, but I was preparing for an operation to have a cancerous prostate removed. It was a secret," he said.
"Me and my husband had a winter wonderland holiday in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. Sledding with dogs, Northern Lights, just in case anything went wrong. So we had happy memories.
"I had enough wifi to watch the darts. That was the only thing that I insisted on! Now my husband has become a fan - he is great at music and is a big White Stripes fan, so is pleased whenever Michael van Gerwen comes in."
Fry dates his passion for the arrows back to Norfolk pubs where he would play condensed versions of the game more fitting for amateur throwers. He describes his playing action as "pretty quick".
He has loved the darts since before that was a catchphrase. Fry remembers two generations prior to the slick product that the World Darts Championship has now become.
"Eric Bristow, Jocky Wilson and those wonderful players," he recalls. "John Lowe, Dennis Priestley. Do you remember the Not the Nine O'Clock News sketch?
"Then I got excited by Raymond van Barneveld as he won BDO championships.
"My goodness me, Phil Taylor, and his extraordinary run of world championships."
Fry argues vehemently in favour of Taylor, a 16-time world champion, being among the greatest sportsman of his time.
He has met several of his heroes and, like sportspeople of other disciplines, is amazed by the personality traits that are required.
"Their extraordinary competitiveness," he said. "I met Will Carling and Gary Lineker at a dinner party. Somebody said: 'I bet you can't eat that in a minute'. Carling and Lineker said: 'yes we can'.
"They both stuffed their mouths. They were utterly determined. It was astonishing to watch. And they're at the pretty boy end of their sports!
"What extraordinary strength of character to never know when you're beaten, to never feel sorry for your opponent. You can be the best of friends - sometimes we see that in darts."
No stranger to the theatre, Fry recognises the need for fans to have their heroes and their villains. Remembering the antagonistic tactics that Gerwyn Price used to win the Grand Slam of Darts he said: "I don't like that. It puts me off. He would say: 'well, that's you'."
Fry is watching with glee as the action unfolds at Alexandra Palace this year. It will resume on December 27 at 12:30pm live on Sky Sports. He can't resist picturing himself on the biggest stage in the sport.
"The Norfolk dumpling?"
What about his entrance music?
"Part of me would like Wagner but I think I'd probably have 'Dazed and Confused' by Led Zeppelin because you want something anthemic. For fun, although it's instrumental, I would have Herb Alpert's Spanish Flea. It's merry and cheerful.
"I defy you to find a sport in which spectators look happier. You rarely see anyone who isn't having a fantastic time and that isn't true of a cricket or a football match. Sheer joy."
In the meantime Fry leaves us with a simple suggestion, and perhaps one that only his brain could have conjured up.
"Why tungsten? Why not stainless steel?"
The World Darts Championship resumes on Thursday December 27 at 12:30pm. You can follow every dart from every session of the World Darts Championships on Sky Sports Darts - check out the full schedule here. You can also stay up to date with all the action behind the scenes by following us @SkySportsDarts.
