Bobby George
George in April 2014
Personal information
Full name	Robert Francis George
Nickname	King of Bling Bobby Dazzler Mr Glitter
Born	(1945-12-16)16 December 1945 (age 79) Manor Park, London, England
Home town	London, England
Darts information
Playing darts since	1976
Darts	Winmau 23g Bobby George
Laterality	Right-handed
Walk-on music	"We Are the Champions" byQueen
Organisation (seesplit in darts)
BDO	1977–2009
WDF major events – best performances
World Championship	Runner-up:1980,1994
World Masters	Semi-final: 1979
World Trophy	Last 32:2002
Int. Darts League	Last 32 Group: 2005
Other tournament wins
Essex Masters 1976. 1977, 1978 Hainault Super League Singles 1976 Butlins Grand Masters 1979, 1980 News of the World Darts Ch'ship 1979, 1986 North American Open 1978 Santa Monica Open 1980 WDF Europe Cup Singles 1982 WDF Europe Cup Team 1982

Robert Francis George (born 16 December 1945) is an English television presenter and former professionaldarts player. He is widely recognised as one of the game's biggest personalities, known for his flamboyant entrances in which the "King of Darts" makes his way to the stage bedecked in jewellery, wearing a crown and cloak and holding a candelabra to theQueen song "We Are the Champions".^[1]

George won several leading major darts tournaments; he won theNews of the World Darts Championship twice and appeared in twoBDO Darts World Championship finals and was the first full-time exhibition player.

Since 1998, George has also worked for theBBC as a co-presenter and promoter of the game in their coverage of darts tournaments.

George took up darts at the age of 30, and quickly improved, winning the first tournament he entered,^[2] and making his first appearance at theWorld Masters less than a year later. He has won several major tournaments, including theNews of the World Championship in 1979 and 1986,^[3] theButlins Grand Masters in 1979 and 1980,^[3] the North American Open in 1978, and And he wasWDF Europe Cup champion in 1982 beatingEric Bristow in the final.^[3] George'sNews of the World victory in 1979 came without dropping a single leg, the only player to do so. Winning the 1979 final with a 100.20 average.^[3] George was the first player to get over 100 average on television. Playing for England, he won the Nations Cup in 1980, as part of an England triples team with Tony Brown andJohn Lowe, but had to withdraw in 1981 because of a ruptured spleen, which he nearly died from.^[4]

George reached the final of theBDO World Darts Championship in 1980 at his first attempt,^[3] beatingDave Whitcombe,Leighton Rees andCliff Lazarenko. His opponent in the final wasEric Bristow. George led the match 1–0, 2–1 and 3–2 in sets, before Bristow edged ahead 4–3. At 2–2 in legs in the eighth set, George missed an opportunity to take the match to a decider. On 66 with one dart in hand, he miscounted and hit treble-16 instead of treble-10, thus leaving himself the trickier double-9 instead of double-18. On his next throw for double-9, George hit single-9 with his first dart and then bust his score by hitting single-20, leaving Bristow with three darts for the championship, which he duly converted with his second dart to seal a 5–3 victory.^[5]

George reached his second and last world final in 1994.^[1] After beatingRussell Stewart andMartin Phillips, he broke his back when celebrating winning a set during his quarter final match againstKevin Kenny. George got through that match against Kenny by 4–2 in sets, having damaged his back when celebrating going 3–2 up. In his semi final match againstMagnus Caris, George went two sets up, but then lost the next four sets and the opening two legs of the seventh set. When Caris missed a dart at double 18 to win the match, George responded by winning nine legs in a row to win the match 5–4 in sets.^[3] Competing in the final against doctor's advice, Wearing a steel corset, George lost 0–6 to John Part playing in extreme pain.^[6] A few weeks after that final, it was found that he had literally broken his back and had to have eight titanium screws inserted into the base of his spine just so that he could stand upright.^[6]

Since 1998, George has been a co-presenter and pundit on theBBC darts coverage, primarily of theBDO World Championship.^[7] He has also made several other television appearances, not all relating to darts. In 2002, he played himself inSean Lock's sitcom15 Storeys High, while in 2004, he starred in the comedy filmOne Man and His Dog,^[8] and later followed in the footsteps of fellow professional darts playerAndy Fordham by taking part in theITV programmeCelebrity Fit Club. In 2006, he appeared in a regular segment ofBrainiac: Science Abuse series 4, in which he played darts in order to explode caravans. He was also a team captain inShowbiz Darts again alongside Fordham. In 2007, he appeared with celebrity TV show,Don’t Call Me Stupid, withVanessa Feltz.^[1]

In 2010, George performed Run DMC'sWalk this Way on Let's Dance for Sport Relief withTony O'Shea,Willie Thorne andDennis Taylor. His colourful character has enabled George to be successful on the darts exhibition circuit, being introduced to it, and money races by his friendTommy O'Regan.^[9]

In 2009, he teamed up with Bristow andJohn Lowe to tour theatres around the UK and Ireland, appearing in a show named Legends of the Oche which was presented and hosted by comedianDuncan Norvelle.^[10] He appeared in a 2009 episode of BBC'sCash in the Attic.^[11]

In January and February 2016, George appeared in the three-part BBC seriesThe Real Marigold Hotel,^[8] which followed a group of celebrity senior citizens includingMiriam Margolyes andWayne Sleep on a journey to India.^[12][13] He also appeared onThe Real Marigold on Tour, visitingFlorida andKyoto in 2016,Chengdu andHavana in 2017, andSt. Petersburg in 2019.^{[14][failed verification]}

In November 2017, George appeared onGone to Pot: American Road Trip in which five celebrities (mainly older aged) go acrossCalifornia andColorado to find out howcannabis can be used medicinally and how it would affect the UK if it was legalised.^[15]

George was born inManor Park, London. After leaving school, he had various jobs including as anightclub bouncer, floor layer, and builder, he was a tunneler working as a lead miner on the Victoria line before taking up darts at the age of 30.^[12]

George lives with his wife and manager Marie and their two sons at George Hall.^[12] The layout of the rooms has been designed to look like a dart,^[1] and above the front door is a stained glass dartboard. George is a keen fisherman, and within the George Hall grounds are well-stocked fishing lakes.^[16]

His sonRichie is also a former professional darts player; He reached the semi-final of the2013 BDO World Darts Championship, losing to eventual championScott Waites.^[17]

George has worked as an ambassador for basicarithmetic, touring schools teaching children how darts can help with counting skills.^[18]

^[3]

• North American Open: 1978
• News of the World Darts Championship: 1979, 1986
• Butlins Grand Masters: 1979, 1980
• WDF Europe Cup Singles: 1982
• WDF Europe Cup Team: 1982

^[3]

• 1980: Runner Up (lost toEric Bristow 3–5)
• 1981: Quarter-finals (lost toCliff Lazarenko 0–4)
• 1982: Semi-finals (lost toJohn Lowe 1–4)
• 1983: First round (lost toTony Brown 0–2)
• 1984: First round (lost to Malcolm Davies 1–2)
• 1985: Second round (lost toFred McMullan 1–3)
• 1986: First round (lost toBob Anderson 0–3)
• 1987: First round (lost to John Lowe 0–3)
• 1993: Semi-finals (lost to John Lowe 3–5)
• 1994: Runner Up (lost toJohn Part 0–6)
• 1995: First round (lost toRonnie Sharp 0–3)
• 1997: Second round (lost toRoland Scholten 0–3)
• 1998: Second round (lost toSean Palfrey 2–3)
• 2000: Second round (lost toRonnie Baxter 2–3)
• 2002: First round (lost toRaymond van Barneveld 1–3)

^[3]

ėė

Outcome	No.	Year	Championship	Opponent in the final	Score[N 1]
Winner	1.	1979	Butlins Grand Masters	Bill Lennard	unknown
Runner-up	1.	1980	World Championship	Eric Bristow	3–5 (s)
Winner	2.	1980	Butlins Grand Masters	Leighton Rees	unknown
Runner-up	2.	1994	World Championship	John Part	0–6 (s)

^[3]

Outcome	No.	Year	Championship	Opponent in the final	Score[N 1]
Winner	1.	1982	Europe Cup Singles	Eric Bristow	4–1 (l)

^[3]

Outcome	No.	Year	Championship	Opponent in the final	Score[N 1]
Winner	1.	1979	News of the World Championship	Alan Glazier	2–0 (l)
Winner	2.	1986	News of the World Championship	Rick Ney	2–0 (l)

^[3]

^[19]

• Official website
• Kingdom of Bobby George

• 1945 births
• Living people
• British Darts Organisation players
• English sports broadcasters
• Darts people
• English darts players
• People educated at Reigate Grammar School
• People from Manor Park, London
• Sportspeople from Essex
• Sportspeople from the London Borough of Newham

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