Dave reveals presenter line-up ahead of first ever live darts event

London - Thursday 26 May 2016 UKTVs leading free-to-air entertainment channel Dave has today announced that popular television and radio presenter Nat Coombs will be leading the channels exclusively live coverage of this years British Darts Organisation (BDO) World Trophy 2016.

Coombs will be presenting 10 hours a day of extensive coverage on May 28, 29 and 30, live from Lakeside Country Club, Surrey. Coverage will start daily at midday and be on air until 10pm, ensuring fans dont miss a single dart thrown during the tournament.

Coombs will be supported by a commentary team boasting a wealth of experience. Leading boxing, athletics and darts commentator John Rawling, a former winner of the Royal Television Societys Sports Commentator of the Year award, will be joined in the commentary box by John Gwynne, a veteran of over twenty world darts championships, and well-known racing and boxing broadcaster, Alex Steedman.

Former two-time BDO world championship semi-finalist, Chris Mason, and current BDO players, Tony OShea and Scotty Mitchell, who will be taking part in the tournament, will provide co-commentary and feature as in-vision pundits.

During the tournament the presentation team will also be joined by darts-loving comedians - including Tim Vine, Jon Richardson and Matt Forde, who will feature on Daves social media channels A bumper crowd will see the BDOs biggest names, including reigning World Champions Scott Waites and Trina Gulliver MBE, along with other high-profile players such as Glen Durrant, Martin Adams, Scott Mitchell, Deta Hedman and Lisa Ashton. Fans will also get the chance to watch crowd favourites Andy Fordham and Ted Hankey who have been handed wildcard entries.

Steve North, Dave general manager, said:

We have secured a strong and experienced team to lead the coverage of Daves very first darts event. We are serious about delivering credible and engaging coverage of this prestigious event and this team will help us to do that. The addition of some iconic Dave faces across the weekend will allow us to also inject the channels unique personality into our coverage.

Sue Williams, Chairman of the BDO, said:

UKTV have secured a fantastic presenting line-up for the tournament and we are very excited to see what the team are going to bring to the event. We want to take darts to new audiences and by integrating some of Daves favourite faces into the coverage we feel we can make that a reality.

Hall of Fame boxing promoter Frank Warren and UKTV, the UKs biggest multi-channel operator, announced their partnership to deliver the BDO World Trophy 2016 at the beginning of the month. The tournament boats a £150,000 prize fund, which will incorporate £50,000 for a nine dart leg and further extends Daves live sport coverage following two live boxing events earlier this year.

The BDO World Trophy 2016 is produced by Input Media, executive produced for Input media by Jonathan Parry and executive produced by Gerald Casey and Arch Dyson for UKTV.

Notes to Editors:

For talent interviews and more information please contact Ben.Duncan@UKTV.co.uk

About Dave Sky 111/246, Virgin 128/194, Freeview 12, BT & TalkTalk 12 On demand on Sky, Virgin and UKTV Play

Dave proudly presents a plethora of original commissions; award-winning Crackanory, Ross Noble Freewheeling, Dave Gormans Modern Life is Goodish, and Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled, all laden with the biggest names in British comedy. Not to mention a brand spanking new original series Hoff the Record, Undercover and Taskmaster. Theres national treasures like QI, Red Dwarf X, Mock the Week and Have I Got News For You, plus the Red Bull trilogy of Cliff Diving, X-Fighters and the Soap Box races. And of course, we still have Top Gear. Dave is the UKs most watched non-PSB channel broadcasting to over 27 million people per month, featuring hit US shows including the sharp-witted and sharp-suited Suits, critically-acclaimed Parks & Recreation and brand spanking new US series The Last Man on Earth. How can we forget the wonder that is Storage Hunters and now original commission Storage Hunters UK, the gift that keeps on giving.

About UKTV UKTV is the biggest multichannel broadcaster in the UK. The award-winning independent has eleven imaginative brands - UKTV Play, Dave, W, Gold, Alibi, Yesterday, Drama, Really, Home, Eden and Good Food. These include the two most popular non-PSB channels in the UK and account for 9.31% of the British commercial TV market. The companys most recent financial results showed record-breaking year-end revenue of £319m and EBITDA of £82m. It invested £148m in programming and related launches last year, and is becoming an increasingly significant investor in UK creativity. UKTV has a truly innovative model, curating brand-defining commissions, high-profile acquisitions and the very best of BBC, alongside programmes originally shown on ITV and Channel 4. The network embraces technology to deliver inspired channels to audiences through Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media, BT, TalkTalk, YouView, Freesat, Amazon Fire and UKTV Play, and distributes its highly valued original programmes to 200 territories. Now celebrating its 23rd year at the forefront of digital television, UKTV - an independent commercial joint venture between BBC Worldwide and Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. (SNI) - is proud to be the only British television broadcaster in The Sunday Times top 100 companies list.

corporate.uktv.co.uk / press.uktv.co.uk / @uktv_press

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