Jocky Wilson was one of the biggest names in darts during the 1980s, but his life took a tragic turn
Oliver Radcliffe Live News Reporter and Sam Dimmer East Midlands Head of Brand
06:33, 16 Dec 2025
Jocky Wilson was a fan favourite and star of darts in the 1980s(Image: Getty Images/ Bob Mart)
A former darts world champion and star of one of the most popular game shows of the 1980s witnessed his life spiral tragically in his final years. Battling depression, a crumbling family situation and worsening financial troubles, Jocky Wilson eventually became a hermit, rarely leaving his council flat before his death at 62.
Transport yourself back to the 1980s, when darts mania had swept across the UK. Long before Luke Littler, Luke Humphries and Michael van Gerwen dominated the sport, legends like Eric Bristow, John Lowe and Jocky Wilson ruled the oche.
The sport in that era looked vastly different to today’s professional game, with players consuming pints and smoking cigarettes whilst competing at the pinnacle of their careers. Growing up on a council estate in his hometown of Kirkcaldy in Scotland, he launched his darting journey hurling arrows at the neighbourhood Lister Bar, later becoming part of the pub’s squad where he swiftly made his mark on the regional scene.
In conversation with the Observer, Jimmy Skirving, a former drinking mate, recalled: “You could always rely on him.
“But I can assure you, Jocky was taken advantage of. Once he won a holiday and some suitcases. He got home with neither – he sold the holiday for 50 quid and the cases for a tenner.”
Jocky Wilson was a two-time world champion in the 1980s(Image: Getty Images)
By the early 1980s, Jocky had established himself as a recognisable figure across the nation, and following his World Championship triumphs in 1982 and 1989, it seemed certain he would cement his legacy in sporting folklore.
Featuring as a guest on Top of the Pops and becoming a familiar face on Bullseye, countless viewers were drawn not only to his darting prowess but to his charismatic presence, reports the Express.
His forthright wit won over supporters everywhere. “I’m short and fat, so what? That’s life! Anyway, TV makes you look fatter,” Wilson once remarked.
Nevertheless, his professional journey, alongside his pre-match routine of consuming lager followed by seven or eight vodkas to calm his anxiety, would shortly reach an unexpected conclusion.
Struggling with numerous health complications, he abruptly stepped away from the sport in December 1995 and retreated to Scotland, where he remained largely hidden from public view until his passing.
It is believed that his diabetes and the requirement to maintain his drinking habits whilst participating – two conflicting elements – eventually compelled him to step down.
He refused all media requests and made only a single public outing at an unusual world team competition at Ayr Butlins during the early 2000s.
Come 2007, he had been found in a one-bedroom property on the identical council estate of his childhood, his winnings having vanished entirely, relying exclusively on disability allowances.
The Observer interview disclosed: “He shuttles between bed and the living-room sofa, where he watches television underneath a giant picture of himself cradling his first World Championship trophy. His only regular human contact is with his wife, Malvina, and the doctors who treat him.”
Reflecting in 1996, a year prior to declaring bankruptcy, Wilson stated: “I’ve been let down once or twice in my life, but I don’t want anyone feeling sorry for me. There’s only one person to blame for the situation I’m in, and that’s me.”
In 2012, it was reported that Jocky had died at the age of 62, with police confirming the death as “non-suspicious and due to a medical matter.”
