GILDING DREAMS OF £1M BUNGALOW BUY

ANDREW GILDING admits he would be “stuffed” if he stopped playing darts.

‘Goldfinger’ underlined his value at Ally Pally by beating Cam Crabtree 3-1 in the opening round of the World Darts Championship, producing a superb 97.89 average and nailing a clinical 161 checkout.

The former UK Open champion has already been dreaming big, revealing he would like to buy the bungalow next door to his current home if he were to land the £1million top prize in north London.

And Gilding made an honest admission about how life-changing that level of financial security would be, insisting it would take huge pressure off his future and underline just how important darts remains to him.

He said: “I’d like to—well, they don’t know about it—but I’d like to buy next door’s bungalow and expand the garden.”

Asked whether his neighbours were aware of the plan, he laughed: “No, of course not. I haven’t got the money to tell them that.

“That would be security in my old age.

“I was a bit of a late starter, so I didn’t really invest in a pension or anything. I’ve got to keep going, otherwise I’m stuffed, really.”

World No34 Gilding has become a fan favourite thanks to his trademark thumbs-up celebration on the oche.

But despite the growing popularity, the Norfolk thrower is reluctant to see himself as a showman — although he admits he might be tempted to cash in by selling foam thumbs if the demand keeps growing.

He added: “I wouldn’t say so. I don’t thump my chest every time I hit a 180.

“I don’t know where the thumb came from.

“It’s just a natural thing. It’s become a thing for me now, so everyone says I should start selling foam thumbs.”

Gilding will face either Chris Dobey or Xiaochen Zong in round two at the Worlds.

He continued: “I think I owe Chris one. I think he’s beaten me quite recently.

“He was the hot favourite for his first-round game.

“I don’t think I’ve beaten him recently, so I definitely owe him one.”

Image by Taylor Lanning.