“Women’s Series next year?” – Fallon Sherrock backs Sky Sports’ Emma Paton after Hyde Park heroics alongside Luke Humphries

Emma Paton’s one-night switch from Sky Sports presenter to darts player ended with a trophy, a winning double and even a public nudge from Fallon Sherrock about a possible next step.

Paton teamed up with Luke Humphries at the Hyde Park Darts Championship, where the pair defeated Nathan Aspinall and Behzinga in the final of the PDC’s Pro-Am event. Paton pinned tops to win a leg in the best-of-three contest before Humphries sealed victory with a 57 checkout.

Afterwards, the attention quickly turned to whether her stage success could lead to something more. Speaking to Online Darts, Paton revealed Sherrock had already floated the idea. “We'll get in the Women's Series first and try and work our way in,” said Paton when Women’s World Matchplay was put to her. “Which is what Fallon said to me after. She was like, ‘Women's Series next year?’”

Sherrock then briefly jumped into the interview herself, adding: “She did. Hot stuff. The best final I've ever seen.”

For Paton, though, a full playing switch is not quite on the agenda yet. After stepping away from her usual role with the microphone, she was quick to joke that her darts career may already have peaked.

“Yeah, I do think I'm going to re-pick up the microphone and stick there,” she laughed. “But I hit a winning double, so I'm going to live off that now. That's me done in darts. Maybe not. I'll be back next year, hopefully.”

Paton has interviewed countless players from the other side of the stage, but Hyde Park gave her a direct taste of the nerves that come with throwing in front of a crowd. “It was probably as nerve-racking as I thought it was going to be,” she admitted. “Also, I'm very competitive, as you know, so everyone was like, ‘How competitive is she?’ talking about it. Yep. Yep.”

That competitive edge also left her determined not to waste the chance of playing alongside Humphries. “So I didn't want to let Luke down either, because I felt like we had the perfect pairing,” Paton continued. “I was like, ‘I'm with a world number two, what could possibly go wrong?’ Me, probably."

“So I didn't want to let him down. I thought we were a brilliant pairing. Let's get out there and do this," she continued. “But yeah, the crowd got so into it. The crowd was pretty big as well, so when I was up there, I was feeling nervous and at times I did crumble, as you saw. But I really enjoyed it. I did, yeah. I did.”

The setting added another layer to Paton’s night, with the event taking place on the Great Oak Stage as part of British Summer Time at Hyde Park. “Oh, so good,” said Paton. “We're here and the guys who were sorting out the Winnebagos earlier were saying, ‘We had Adele in here not too long ago.’ They've got Lewis Capaldi here at the weekend. So we're here playing darts on a stage at British Summer Time at Hyde Park.”

Humphries briefly appeared during the interview, with Paton pointing out her winning teammate. “Oh, look, here's my teammate. Here's my teammate. Gosh, he played his part, that's for sure.”

“Easy,” Humphries replied. “Light work. Light work,” Paton joked.

Paton was not present for last year’s first Hyde Park darts event, which saw Sherrock and Joe Swash win the Pro-Am title, but her own debut at the crossover event ended in style. “Yeah, honestly, it was such an amazing event,” she added. “I wasn't here last year, 12 months ago for the first one, so this is my first experience of it and yeah, I want to come back.”

Paton’s own darts were also part of the story, with her winning double giving her an easy line when asked about them after the final. “Maybe, yes. So let's put the double 20 down to the darts,” she joked. “I'm so excited for people to see them, to see the packaging, to see the darts, to buy the darts. So yeah, I just need to get back on the practice board with them.”

Asked whether playing on stage had changed her outlook on her usual presenting role, Paton pointed to her own sporting background, while admitting that darts brought a very different type of pressure.

“Don't get me wrong, I come from a competitive background,” she said. “Obviously, a completely different sport. So yeah, now I can say that I've been on a stage and I...”

When it was pointed out that she had done more than just appear on stage, Paton accepted the upgrade. “I've lifted the trophy. I've won on the stage. But yeah, absolutely.”

A UK Open qualification bid was soon being joked about too, although Paton made sure the conversation did not get completely out of hand. “I feel like we're getting carried away now, you know?” she laughed.

For now, Paton leaves Hyde Park with a winning double, a trophy alongside Humphries, and Sherrock’s playful Women’s Series challenge hanging over any possible return next year.