“They spoke to every other pundit and commentator — apart from me” – Alan Warriner-Little found out via social media that his contract at ITV4 was terminated

With a refreshed team of commentators and analysts, the English TV channel ITV4 took a new direction this year. The network said goodbye to commentator Stuart Pyke and commentator/analyst Alan Warriner-Little, among others.

Alan Warriner-Little is a major name in the darts world. He was a runner-up at the BDO World Championship and twice reached the semi-finals at the PDC World Darts Championship. Warriner-Little won the World Grand Prix in 2001 and was also world number one for a period.

Moreover, in 1993 he co-founded the PDC alongside players such as Phil Taylor, Dennis Priestley, and Peter Manley. After his playing career, Warriner-Little became chairman of the players’ union PDPA (Professional Darts Players Association) and worked as an analyst and commentator for ITV4 at various major tournaments.

However, ITV4’s darts coverage underwent a serious facelift at the start of this year. Well-known names like Glen Durrant and Wayne Mardle joined the team, and Alan Warriner-Little was sidelined without explanation after twenty years of loyal service, something that still resonates with the 63-year-old Englishman.

“I’m quite upset about it actually,” Warriner-Little said. “Above all because I received no explanation. I had to learn through social media that they would no longer be using me. That really hurt, especially because many fans told me they disagreed with that decision.”

“We were told by ITV last year that they weren’t going to do the production anymore. So we were like, 'Oh, okay — so what’s happening?' Because we were never really told that much. They spoke to every other pundit and commentator — apart from me. That’s what I was griping about."

Warriner-Little mainly criticises the lack of respect. It was quite upsetting after nearly 20 years doing it, being part of the system with the PDC and the PDPA, being the first World Number One, and being the originator of the PDC when we set up the company. It just felt like a real, real dig in the ribs, and I wasn’t very happy about it.”