Darts: PDC to scrap walk-on girls after broadcaster talks

Walk-on girls will no longer be used by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) after talks with broadcasters.

The long-established practice of women escorting male players to the stage will be abandoned, starting with this weekend's Masters in Milton Keynes.
"We regularly review all aspects of our events and this move has been made following feedback from our host broadcasters," said a PDC spokesperson.
World number one Michael van Gerwen has said the tradition should end.

However, former world champion Raymond van Barneveld is supporting an online petition to reinstate it. As of Saturday morning, more than 5,000 people had signed the appeal.
"I will really miss the girls!! For me they are a part of the darts," Dutchman Van Barneveld wrote on Twitter.

Formula 1's new owners said in December that they are looking into whether the sport should continue to use 'grid girls'.

The Women's Sport Trust tweeted: "We applaud the Professional Darts Corporation moving with the times and deciding to no longer use walk-on-girls. Motor racing, boxing and cycling....your move."