Wayne Mardle returns to Sky Sports after tragic death of wife Donna

Wayne Mardle made an emotional return to the airwaves on Thursday night - almost two months after the death of his wife Donna. The popular Sky Sports voice of darts missed the whole PDC World Championship at Alexandra Palace after being compassionate leave. Mardle, 51, made a low-key comeback on the opening night of the BetMGM Premier League in Belfast, resuming behind the microphone with Rod Studd for Luke Littler’s re-run of his final against Michael van Gerwen at Ally Pally.

As he made a low-key return to commentating, he said: "Good evening - evening all, didn't take him long (in response to Van Gerwen's start)!" He then got straight to work as he gave his expert view on Littler's clash with Van Gerwen. After his first stint on the air since November, Mardle posted on X, formerly Twitter: "I needed that!". Millions of viewers were stunned when Sky Sports anchor Emma Paton revealed news of Mardle’s devastating loss on the opening night of the World Championship on December 15. Donna died aged 52 following a short illness, and the players were devastated to learn of her passing.

Van Gerwen became tearful when he spoke about her following his second round match at Alexandra Palace and another former world champion, Luke Humphries, revealed he had earlier reached out to Mardle. Cool Hand Luke said: “I’ve spoken to him, yeah. What he's told me, I won't repeat - that’s his business. “But I heard that he might be coming back to do some commentary. I think he's coping but, yeah, everyone knows that when you lose a loved one, it's really tough, isn't it?”.

Five-times world championship semi-finalist Mardle was famous as a player for his florid shirts and ‘Hawaii 501’ nickname. And his charisma extended to the commentary box, where his soundtrack to ‘Bully Boy’ Michael Smith’s sensational nine-darter against Van Gerwen in the Ally Pally final two years ago has gone down in broadcast legend. When Smith nailed double 12 to complete his perfect leg - MVG had wired his shot at nine-dart glory seconds earlier - Mardle famously lost his voice in the excitement, rasping: “I can’t spake! I can’t spake!”.

His hoarse whispering echoed a celebrated YouTube clip where rugby league commentator Mick Morgan rants at the referee in the 1994 Regal Trophy final between Castleford and Wigan. Mardle readily admitted he was mimicking Morgan - and that Donna played a part in establishing “I can’t spake” in his lexicon. He said: "Rod introduced me to it about a dozen years ago and 'I can't speak' is something that me and Rod say to each other a lot - when there are no words I say it. I even say it at home. I say it to Mrs Mardle and then walk away.