Wayne Mardle made an emotional return to commentary duty for Premier League night one on Thursday.
It comes almost two months after the sad passing of his wife Donna, who died following a short illness.
Mardle is a hugely popular name in broadcasting is and widely regarded as Sky Sports’ voice of darts.
However, he missed the whole PDC World Championship at Alexandra Palace due to being on compassionate leave.
The 51-year-old made an understated comeback to darting duty for the opening night of the Premier League in Belfast where he joined Rod Stuff behind the microphone.
Taking to X during his appearance, Mardle posted: “I needed that!”
Responding to hearing his return, darts fans took to social media to share their delight.
One fan wrote: “Welcome back Wayne Mardle.”
A second fan wrote: “Great to have Wayne Mardle back on comms, you don’t know what you got until it’s not there I think a lot have learnt. He injects so much energy and passion.”
“Fantastic to hear Wayne Mardle’s iconic ‘come on now!’ on commentary at the end of this clip. The world of darts has missed him so much and it’s great to have him back,” said a third.
Meanwhile a fourth said: “I don’t care what anyone says Wayne Mardle is the best commentator is darts at the moment hes only been on five minutes and his voice has already made a difference.”
Mardle’s absence at the World Championships left everyone stunned when Sky Sports’ presenter Emma Paton revealed the news during their coverage.
Such is his standing in the sport, a number of players were emotional upon hearing the news with Michael Van Gerwen becoming tearful when discussing his wife in an interview.
Luke Humphries also discussed Mardle’s bereavement, saying: “I’ve spoken to him, yeah. What he’s told me, I won’t repeat – that’s his business.
“But I heard that he might be coming back to do some commentary. I think he’s coping but, yeah, everyone knows that when you lose a loved one, it’s really tough, isn’t it?”
And his return to the mic at Premier League night one did not disappoint.
Chris Dobey and Rob Cross knocked out Gerwyn Price and Stephen Bunting respectively, before the night’s big clash got underway.
In a repeat of the World Championship final, Van Gerwen faced Luke Littler and came out on top in a 6-5 thriller in their quarter-final clash before Humphries earned his spot in the semi-final by beating Nathan Aspinall.
More to follow…