Darting icon Glen Durrant has backed the selection of opponents for Luke Littler’s Netflix show following backlash from fans.
Twenty-four players will face the world No1 in Manchester in a leg of darts for a chance to win £501,000, with several familiar faces for those who follow the sport.
Fans have criticised the casting after the initial framing of the show suggested casual players would have a chance to compete, but the contestants include several known on the PDC circuit.
Queen of the Palace Fallon Sherrock is throwing, as are Irish star Katie Sheldon and Ashley Coleman, who sits 34th in the PDC Challenge Tour rankings.
Durrant, speaking exclusively to GB News, backed the selected contestants, suggesting people would have complained if 20 poorer players were “steamrolled” by the Nuke.
He said: “I’m involved, and I’m part of my thinking is [the] buyers trying to sell the product there? But I think there’s a couple of ways of looking at it.
“I read social media, and a lot of it was like: ‘Listen, my mates, mates, mates went and did a 12-darter, and they said to him: ‘You’re too good to be honest.’ So they’re cherry-picking 20 players, and he’s going to steamroll all of them.
“Then the same people who were writing that when the 20 came out are saying this is all wrong. It was marketed as pub players. Well, if you can tell me that Makinley Cooper-Johnson, Kasey Smith, Tony Cole, Lauren Bloomfield, Katie Sheldon, they’re not professional players. This is the most incredible. None of them are professional players.”
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Durrant continued: “I think the critics. I mean, someone sent me the bio of Fallon’s Twitter account, which says professional player, but none of them held a tour card.
“Now I don’t know if my bias is that I’m trying to protect, but genuinely I’m thinking the players who are going to go on early are the ones who have got the least experience, and then hopefully it comes to a crescendo with the likes of Jayden Walker, the likes of Ashley Coleman, the likes of Fallon Sherrock, and for sure Mitchell Lawrie.
“You know, if he wins that bullseye against Luke Littler, and he can do a 15-dart, a 12-dart, because these young players have no fear.
“But I know what it’s like to throw a dart for £100,000. I know what it takes to throw a dart for £250,000, and I know it’s like an out-of-body experience. It’s entertainment. Netflix is a wonderful addition to the world of darts. Let’s embrace it.”
Netflix recently responded to the critics online following its lengthy casting days, which saw thousands of people queuing up for hours, saying the “application and audition process was exactly the same for everyone”.
“[It was] open only to people aged 12 and over who do not hold, and have never held, a PDC Tour Card. The final 24 that have been selected for the chance to face Luke this week, all queued up to compete in the heats in London or Manchester, respectively, and managed to complete a leg of 501 in 24 darts or less to prove their darting ability,” a spokesman told City AM.
Despite the backlash, Durrant feels the pressure of the crowd and the moment will add to the production, and believes a 15-darter could be enough to beat the Nuke.
He told the People’s Channel through Football Betting: “If they do that and win the bull, then you know Littler’s got to hit a nine.
“But, you know, with a crowd, I’m sure Netflix are going to build it up. I’m sure the introduction of Gary Lineker and Richard Osman. The nerves are going to be raging.
“So it’s going to be a really, really difficult forum. So what I would say, the likes of Mitchell Lawrie and Jayden Walker, they just look like they have no fear.
“Ashley Coleman, he plays so quickly that maybe he hasn’t got time to even sort of overthink the situation. I think it’s a good balance.
“I think there are players there we’ve never heard of, great backstories, and we’ve got the headline acts, including the likes of Fallon Sherrock.”
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