Hi-tech, hidden mics and the mesmerising 'spotter'

Behind the scenes at Alexandra Palace this Christmas is an intricate, high-paced operation to capture every throw of the World Darts Championship as Lawrence Ostlere discovers.

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Televising the PDC World Darts Championship is a monstrous operation. Planning began 11 months ago, the day after Luke Littler won the world title last January. In total, there are 23 cameras, 56 microphones (including five hidden mics embedded in the board to deliver that iconic “thunk” sound), with 200 sleep-deprived people deployed to broadcast every dart thrown across 144 hours of action.

It is an orchestra, and at its heart is the conductor, Sky Sports director Tim Brown, who I find hunkered down at the back of an expandable truck that sits in the middle of a warren of trailers and temporary structures backstage. After a few minutes in the dimly lit room, it quickly becomes apparent why his role is called “the hardest job in television”, as Brown manoeuvres our picture between the stage, the boisterous crowd and across the board for the six seconds each player visits the oche, on repeat.

Every orchestra needs someone in a darkened corner counting time, and that person at Alexandra Palace is known as the spotter. They are the reason our TV screens zoom in on treble 19 before the dart has left the player’s fingers, and it is the spotter’s predictive powers that ensure camera operators know which of the multiple checkout routes they will choose.

There are four rotating spotters at this year’s championship, and today I find Charlie Corstorphine in the hot seat behind the director. Costorphine is also a match referee; his mesmerising skill is to both work out the possible checkouts at double-quick speed and know the players’ preferred areas of the dartboard intimately. He can read out three different solutions to the question of how to get from 121 to zero faster than I can multiply three 16s. Or two, come to think of it.