Photo: PDC/Lawrence Lustig
footsteps of his idol - Eric Bristow.
“I was affected with a mild dose of dartitis and I did
loads of reading up on it and spent a considerable
amount of money trying to beat it,” added Holden.
“It still affects me from time to time, but I have
learned to hide it to
the point where no one
notices now.”
Now aged 53, Holden
holds down a regular 9-5
job in a Littlewoods retail
store - a far cry from the
glitz and glamour of the
PDC.
Challenge Tour offering aspiring players more
avenues than ever to live their darting dream,
Holden is handed a potential olive branch to roll
back the years.
But with family commitments and without the
essence of youth on his
side, the ‘Top Banana’ has
dismissed any possibility of
an impending comeback.
“Yes I do miss the rush of
walking on and playing
on TV, but I can’t see me
making a comeback any
time soon!”
“At present I work for Littlewoods Direct shop at a
returns centre.
“At the moment my health is not the best, but I’m
very happy and content playing locally and doing a
bit of fishing at weekend, plus my 12 grandchildren
keep me on my toes!”
With the PDC’s qualifying school and newly-formed
“Yes I do miss the rush of
walking on and playing on
TV, but I can’t see me making
a comeback any time soon!”
he added.
For now, the current crop of PDC stars can sleep safely
in the knowledge that the man from Manchester
won’t be causing any more ‘banana’ skins, for the
time being.
Jamie Shaw