MITCHELL: “I’M THE STIG OF DARTS”

By Aaron Nijjar

SCOTT MITCHELL has swapped darts for the TV screen after becoming the ‘Stig of Darts’.  

‘Scotty Dog’ won the BDO World Darts Championship in 2015, beating Martin Adams 7-6 to clinch his first and only Major title.  

The 54-year-old revealed recently that he has been appearing in the hit soap opera EastEnders for 10 years – but viewers have probably never been able to spot him. 

That is because he pops into the show to throw darts in the Queen Victoria pub but he is never shown on screen.    

The Bournemouth thrower compared himself to the iconic Top Gear character Stig, as he told talkSPORT: “I don’t know whether I’ve had the duff duffs because I haven’t been watching it. 

“But yeah I’m a bit of a, I’m like the Stig of the Darts world where I pop in to various shows and throw a dart but you never see me.” 

When asked to elaborate what his exact role in the soap was, Mitchell said: “Basically we see the darts hit the board where they want the actors to put them.  

“Well obviously it’s part of the script. So sometimes where the dart lands is where the script is heading and going. So it needs to land in certain places. 

“So if they need a bullseye to win a match obviously then the script then goes to the next two minutes off the back of that bullseye. I haven’t watched EastEnders for a long time. It’s just the way the game works.” 

Mitchell has been in the role for a decade, having won his World title back in 2015.  

He said: “I’ve been going in and out for ten years every now and again. You know I’m a jobber. I just do wherever the money takes me.”  

The Englishman followed up his BDO world title with a run to the last eight the following year and made the semi-finals again in 2020. 

Mitchell later earned a PDC Tour card in 2021 and made his Ally Pally debut the following year. 

However, he was beaten by Chris Landman in the opening round of the tournament. 

He is also a four-time veteran of the Grand Slam of Darts and enjoyed a fine run to the fourth round at last year’s UK Open. 

After entering in the first round as a Challenge Tour qualifier, Mitchell beat Leighton Bennett, Darren Beveridge and Matthew Dennant before being defeated by fourth seed Nathan Aspinall.  

The UK Open returns this weekend at Butlins, Minehead.  

Image by Taylor Lanning.