Darts reporter Polly James hits back at trolls giving her ‘c***’ about neck tattoo

Polly James is a familiar face to fans of darts around the world (Picture: Getty/Instagram@pollyjames)

Sky Sports darts reporter Polly James has shut down trolls giving her ‘c***’ about her tattoos, claiming the abuse she receives goes completely ‘over her head’.

A regular on Sky Sports’ coverage during darts’ explosion into the mainstream, James is now a familiar face to fans across the world.

Having interviewed the who’s who of the sport down the years, from teenage sensation Luke Littler to compatriot Gerwyn Price, James has built a reputation as one of the most respected reporters on the circuit.

But despite her rise to prominence, some viewers still struggle to look past James’ tattoos and the 38-year-old, who hails from Wales, has continued to receive derogatory messages about her ink at this year’s World Darts Championship.

However, it appears such comments are water off a duck’s back to James, who cares far more about the quality of her reporting than fans’ opinions about her appearance.

‘I do get a lot of c*** about the neck tattoo,’ she told The Mirror.

‘More so now, but that is because there are more eyes on darts, but it goes over my head.

The Cardiff reporter is also a regular presenter on Radio X (Picture: Instagram/@pollyjames)

‘Say what you like about my appearance, I do not give a… but please don’t criticise my work, because that really hits hard and that generally doesn’t happen.

‘I get on with a lot of darts people, I am in such a privileged position to do what I do, but I don’t want to lose sight of what it is like to be a darts fan.

‘I am on their side, I am not on the other side, so to speak. I just have an incredible role to play.’

James, who also works as a presenter on Radio X, believes darts is ‘one of the most charming sports in the world’ and this is reflected in the diversity of its fans.

‘You’ve got grandma and grandpa sat together in the crowd, then you’ve got a group of 20-year-old lads. You don’t get that at any other sports,’ she added.

‘I get asked quite often what I like most about the darts and you know what, it is something that you cannot explain too much. I grew up with it, I enjoyed it, I clicked with it and now I can’t ever see it not being in my life.

‘My first time I went to Ally Pally was back in 2009. The first time I started working at the darts, it was one of those things where I didn’t know if I wanted to mix pleasure with work.

Van Gerwen takes on Littler in tonight’s World Darts Championship final (Picture: Getty)

‘I’m a radio DJ as my main job and then did some hosting and presenting on the side, then someone got in touch to see if I wanted to do the post-match interviews for the Premier League, back in 2019. I just thought I would love to do that and I would give it a shot and it went from there, then the following year I started working for Sky.

‘For me as a person, I really like the rags to riches story in sport. I used to do athletics when I was younger and as a result, I really connected with those stories. I like to find out their reasons why these amazing people who were from down the road from me, their journeys and how they got to become world champion.

‘The players are really down to earth. Some of them are obviously media-trained but darts is so charming.

‘It has this loveable way about it and these are normal guys. We have to remember that about them, they are doing extraordinary things. They give up a load of time and sacrifice a lot for our entertainment, but they are normal guys with normal families and like a drink down the pub, it is just that they throw darts and they have become world champions.’

While James is now an experienced head in the world of darts reporting, she still gets the ‘buzz’ when talking to the players before and after matches.

‘You get that buzz as a person and as a sport reporter, you do think, “Don’t f*** it up”. It is not about you, it’s all about them, but don’t f*** it up.

“I am a fan and a punter at that moment, so I am buzzing to speak to them at that moment to find out what is going through their head.

‘I remember when I spoke to Littler after he beat Barney [Raymond van Barneveld] and that put him into the quarter-finals, and I remember that was a big moment. You are just as excited as a fan.’

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