Wayne Mardle’s return to darts commentary was warmly received by Luke Littler after the pundit took a break following the sad loss of his wife Donna.
The 51-year-old made his comeback to Sky Sports punditry for the Premier League season opener on Thursday. Mardle had missed the World Championship due to his wife’s passing, which happened just before the event.
After more than a month off-screen, the ex-darts player returned to provide commentary with Rod Studd for world champion Luke Littler’s first match of the new season against Michael van Gerwen.
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The 18-year-old Littler, who narrowly lost 6-5 to the 35-year-old, took to social media to express his appreciation for Mardle, responding to the commentator’s post on X where he wrote: “I needed that” with a message saying: “Great to have you back”.
Mardle, despite his extended break, did not mention the reason for his absence during match. His absence at the time was noted by his colleague Emma Paton, who informed viewers: “If you are a regular viewer of Sky Sports Darts, you will notice that Wayne is not here with us this evening.
“Wayne is the heart and soul of everything we do here at Sky Sports Darts. But the heart of his world, his wonderful wife Donna, sadly passed away earlier this week after a short illness. We will be remembering Donna throughout this tournament. Wayne, you are in our thoughts, you are in our hearts, we love you very much. And we will see you very soon,” reports the Express.
His return coincided with a classic clash between two of darts’ best players with Van Gerwen edging Littler, despite the youngster’s higher average of 113.91. Littler set a record for the highest average in Belfast as well as achieving the second highest average in a loss in Premier League history.
It was just earlier this week that Van Gerwen levied criticism at Littler for his unprofessionalism after arriving 45 minutes late to a photoshoot due to oversleeping. The Boxtel native urged the PDC bosses to refrain from treating Littler like a “baby”. “He’s not a baby anymore, he’s 18-years-old now,” he said. “It happens. He has to learn.
“You have to learn the hard way. It’s a professional sport so you have to be responsible for your actions. Simple as that. If he turns up late for an interview, I don’t mind! But seven other people are waiting for him. That’s not very nice, is it?”