PDC World Darts Championship presenter Emma Paton has become a Sky Sports favourite for many fans, but she had a rich history in sport before interviewing the likes of Luke Littler
PDC World Darts Championship presenter Emma Paton has become a Sky Sports favourite for many fans, but she had a rich history in sport before interviewing the likes of Luke Littler PDC World Darts Championship presenter Emma Paton has become a Sky Sports favourite for many fans, but she had a rich history in sport before interviewing the likes of Luke Littler
The 2025 World Darts Championship semi-finals get underway on Thursday – and Emma Paton will be there for every step of the ride.
The Sky Sports host and presenter has become a welcome addition to the tournament after joining the world of darts in recent years. And as Luke Littler prepares to take on Stephen Bunting for his chance of reaching a second straight World Championship final, Paton will add another stroke of star talent to the action.
The winner of Littler and Bunting’s semi will advance to take on either Michael van Gerwen or Chris Dobey for the title. A thrilling three-week schedule is set to conclude at Alexandra Palace on Friday, and Paton has starred on Sky screens as much as anyone else.
But darts was hardly her first love despite how natural Paton may appear in her work around the oche. Here, Mirror Sport examines her late entry into the sport after landing a big break elsewhere at Sky, as well as her own athletic career hopes.
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Darts confession
Far from being her first love, Paton’s appreciation for darts only really took off when she became directly involved in the production side of things. And while the 30-year-old may have always had an appreciation for the sport that’s made her a household name, she explained how that love truly took off in recent years.
“I’ve always been a darts fan but nothing like I am now, doing every major event for Sky,” she told Mirror Sport last year. “I worked on Sky Sports News in production behind the scenes but always wanted to be reporting and presenting. I got a breakthrough in 2019 by presenting on Sky Sports News.
“Dave Clark, an absolute legend who had presented it for 20 years, saw it as the right time to step back. Rory Hopkins, who has produced darts for 30 years, basically the whole time darts had been Sky, saw me on Sky Sports News. He sent me a random message saying, ‘Is there any chance you like darts? I think you’d be great for it.'”
Hopkins clearly has an eye for talent, considering just how smooth Paton’s transition has been. And many fans will be hoping Sky Sports’ latest darts face sticks around for years to come.
WWE breakthrough
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Paton has previously explained how a chance encounter with Paul Levesque (better known as Triple H, WWE’s chief content officer) led to her becoming a more frequent fixture around the ring. She had already been working at Sky Sports for several years when the chance arose to attend a WWE media event, and it ended up taking her career to the next level.
“I was trying to find opportunities to gain experience as a presenter. One of my colleagues worked on WWE and said, ‘We do podcasts if you ever want to come and shadow or watch, let me know,'” she told Wayne Mardle on the William Hill Club 501 last year. “An event came up at the Royal Albert Hall for a press day and then the event in the evening.
“My colleague told me to ask a question. I put my hand up and they brought a mic over and I asked about the growth of women’s wrestling and Triple H gave this really long answer. The press conference wrapped up and he’s walking out with his entourage and comes over to me and introduces himself. He says ‘I might have an exclusive for you.'”
The offer eventually led to Paton travelling to New York to cover a WWE event on Sky Sports’ behalf. She later attributed the confidence she gained from that experience as being key to her applying for a presenter role on the channel – and the rest is history.
Shock sports talent
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A career in sport always looked likely for Paton, given she was a promising athlete herself and specialised in the 400 metres. She even competed while attending Loughborough University, where she trained with Aston Moore, the same coach responsible for helping to develop Olympians like Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Kelly Sotherton.
“Some of the best years of my life were spent training at Loughborough University and mixing with arguably the best 400m runners in the country,” she said. “The coach who had the biggest impact on me was Kelly Sotherton’s first coach, Aston Moore, who is now working with Katarina Johnson-Thompson.
“Kelly was probably coming towards the end of her career in heptathlon because of injuries and focusing more on 400m, and she was dragging me round in training sessions. If I ever got close to Kelly, it felt like a win. For a while I was living the life of an elite athlete and they were really good times – some brutal, brutal sessions, but I probably enjoyed the training more than competition.”
Paton graduated from her studies in 2012 and landed a gig at Sky Sports shortly afterwards. And the same determination that once fuelled her athletic pursuits is now put to good use going toe to toe with the elite of the darts world.
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