"We’ve lost a lovely man who was part of the fabric of darts" - Phil Taylor's heartfelt tribute to Tony Green

On Monday the legendary Tony Green sadly passed away. For many years Green was a BBC TV commentator during the BDO World Championship and also host of Bullseye.

Green was 85 and passed away after a long battle with Alzheimer's. "We’ve lost a lovely man who was part of the fabric of darts," said Phil Taylor. "He accompanied me to the BBC Sports Personality of the Year bash in London once - in the year I beat Eric Bristow in the final - and I was amazed how many people seemed to know him on the red carpet. Everybody wanted his autograph or to shake his hand, and I said to him, ‘Crikey, bud - I’m the world champion but you’re the most popular man here.’"

"Tony had a heart of gold," Taylor continued. "I still watch re-runs of Bullseye on the box now, and we always joked about the fact that I never hit the 301 with nine darts, on the guest slot."

"Once I was so embarrassed to fall short that I gave the winning couple my £300 appearance fee. Tony was such a lovely fella. It feels like another one of the game’s most faithful companions has gone.”