"Darts is in a great place, I don't think I can take it any further": Legendary PDC MC John McDonald at peace with impending Ally Pally farewell

After nearly two decades as the booming voice behind some of darts’ most iconic moments, PDC Master of Ceremonies John McDonald has announced he will be stepping away from the microphone following the upcoming World Darts Championship.

Speaking with Online Darts in Wolverhampton, the beloved MC opened up about the decision, the emotions behind it, and the legacy he leaves behind as he gets ready to give his final walk-on.

McDonald revealed that retirement has been on his mind for a while, driven by age, family considerations, and the feeling that his run had reached its natural conclusion. “Everybody has to retire at some point in their career, don’t they? I’m in my 66th year. I think it’s a good time to leave. Darts is in a great place. I don’t think I can take it any further.”

The pressures of a long career on the road played a major role. For McDonald, family had begun to outweigh the thrill of the job. “It gets tougher as you get older. It’s about time I spent a bit of time with the family and my grandchildren. While I can still bounce around a bit, it was a good decision.” Though confident in the timing, he admits it won’t be easy: “I’m going to miss it. It’s been a fantastic ride… but everything good must come to an end.”

McDonald explained that the decision has slowly taken shape over several years, with practical steps taken along the way. “I’ve been thinking about it the last couple of years… So I started putting plans together. I downsized my home. I took advice from friends. Now felt like a good time.”

But before moving on, he wanted to ensure the PDC was stable and thriving. “I wanted to make sure the PDC were in a good place before I left. They’ve been very good to me the least I can do is be good to them.”

There was no single event that triggered his retirement, but several personal moments made him reevaluate his priorities. “I lost my brother Peter, who meant a lot to me. I was even struggling to get to his funeral because of commitments. That didn’t help.”

Even simple requests from his grandchildren highlighted what he had missed. “They’d say, ‘Can you come watch me play football on Sunday?’ and I’d say, ‘I can’t.’ I’d said that to my own children too.”

Working in darts, he said, is “a great life,” yet often a lonely one that takes you away from the people who matter most.

McDonald has worked closely with PDC Chief Executive Matt Porter for many years, and telling him was emotional. “Yeah, I think he was surprised. We’ve done a lot together… I’ve been with him since he joined Matchroom. I knew he was a bright star.”

Porter took the news professionally, and together they mapped out a final run through to the 2025 World Championship. "It gives the PDC another year to try some different stuff… and get someone in place who can deliver this brilliant job week in, week out.”

While McDonald insists he isn’t overly sentimental about work, leaving Ally Pally for the final time will stir emotions. “I’ll miss the banter. It reminded me of the Army, the great banter. I’ll probably miss that more than the long hours, travelling, cancelled trains and planes… I’m certainly not going to miss that.”

He will, however, deeply miss the people he has worked with. “I’ll miss the people terribly.”

With both McDonald and fellow MC George Noble stepping back, PDC stages will look very different next year. “George was a breath of fresh air. He brought great professionalism and really knew his stuff. He’s very good at what he does.”

Like McDonald, Noble is a family man looking to reclaim lost time and will be sorely missed by a generation of darts fans who have grown up with their dulcet tones either calling on players or calling out the big scores. But he admitted himself everything has to come to an end.

Across thousands of player walk-ons, a few announcements stand above the rest. His first-ever darts introduction was truly legendary: “Introducing Eric Bristow in 2004… what a way to start, with the Godfather of the game.”

Another standout came in Rotterdam: “Barney in the Premier League in Rotterdam — that was just something else.”

And one of the most emotional moments involved Phil Taylor’s final Matchplay appearance: “Even he got teary-eyed. He sent me a lovely text afterwards… ‘You really got me.’ That was quite nice.”

McDonald says his goal was always to elevate British sports presentation to match the showmanship he had admired in American boxing. “I thought: why can’t we be as good as the Americans? Why can’t we showbiz? We’re better than them! Somebody said, ‘If you’re that worried, do it yourself.’ So I did.”

His work with Barry Hearn helped crystallise darts’ now-iconic stage style. “He puts the biz in sport… It took ages to get it right, but maybe it’s become popular because everyone can eventually see it.”

Since announcing his retirement, fans across social media have shared an outpouring of appreciation. “That’s always nice. I’m an ordinary guy — I’m nobody special. But it’s nice to think I make somebody’s night.”

Lewis Jones has been trialing out as a potential successor for McDonald but the legendary MC was adamant he'd still be there to advise in case they need it but that while he's been around the sport a long time, he didn't hand pick Jones.

“Lewis Jones has been in and around the darts a long time. He said he’d like to try. You have to be very brave in this job — we’re talking millions of people watching.”

Asked about the emotions of that last descent, McDonald kept his trademark humour: “The emotion would be: ‘I wonder where my car is so I can jump in it, get home, and have a good kip.’”

But he knows the magnitude of the stage he is stepping away from. “The World Championship final is the pinnacle of our sport. I probably won’t think too much about it or I’d get a bit melancholy. I’ll just get on, do the job, do the presentation.”

He hopes for a fresh name on the Sid Waddell Trophy to mark the moment. “There’s some great young talent coming through. Who knows what will happen?”