Sky Sports Darts star Polly James has discussed her day job and how she handles mean-spirited comments about her distinctive tattoo
Sky Sports Darts presenter and DJ Polly James doesn’t care about the online trolls who have criticised her tattoos. The 38-year-old from Cardiff, who hosts Radio X on weekday afternoons, has become a prominent figure in sports broadcasting.
James has emerged as one of Sky Sports’ leading reporters covering major events, particularly as the voice behind numerous interviews with PDC darts stars during this year’s Darts World Championship at Alexandra Palace.
However, with increased visibility comes unwanted attention, as online trolls have targeted a large rose tattoo that extends across her shoulder, upper chest and neck. The presenter remains unbothered by the negativity.
“I do get a lot of crap about the neck tattoo,” she said exclusively to the Mirror. “More so now, but that is because there are more eyes on darts, but it goes over my head.
“Say what you like about my appearance, I do not give a… but please don’t criticise my work, because that really hits hard and that generally doesn’t happen.”
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James first attended Ally Pally 16 years ago as a spectator, quickly developing a passion for the sport. She admitted to some initial uncertainty about combining her personal interests with her professional life.
She explained: “My first time I went to Ally Pally was back in 2009. The first time I started working at the darts, it was one of those things where I didn’t know if I wanted to mix pleasure with work.
“I’m a radio DJ as my main job and then did some hosting and presenting on the side, then someone got in touch to see if I wanted to do the post-match interviews for the Premier League, back in 2019. I just thought I would love to do that and I would give it a shot and it went from there, then the following year I started working for Sky.
“For me as a person, I really like the rags to riches story in sport. I used to do athletics when I was younger and as a result, I really connected with those stories. I like to find out their reasons why these amazing people who were from down the road from me, their journeys and how they got to become world champion.”
James emphasised that despite her professional role, she remains a darts fan at heart. “I get on with a lot of darts people, I am in such a privileged position to do what I do, but I don’t want to lose sight of what it is like to be a darts fan,” she expressed.
“I am on their side, I am not on the other side, so to speak. I just have an incredible role to play. I think darts is one of the most charming sports in the world.
“You’ve got grandma and grandpa sat together in the crowd, then you’ve got a group of 20-year-old lads. You don’t get that at any other sports.”
She concluded: “I get asked quite often what I like most about the darts and you know what, it is something that you cannot explain too much. I grew up with it, I enjoyed it, I clicked with it and now I can’t ever see it not being in my life.”
