logo
Luke Littler celebrates making darts history - and £200k payday - on stage with his girlfriend... after confirming relationship with subtle gesture on live TV

Luke Littler celebrates making darts history - and £200k payday - on stage with his girlfriend... after confirming relationship with subtle gesture on live TV

Daily Mail​6 days ago
Luke Littler capped off a sensational night at Blackpool 's Winter Gardens by confirming his relationship with his fun-loving beautician girlfriend after clinching the 2025 World Matchplay title.
The 18-year-old secured £200,000 in prize money and became the youngest player ever to complete darts' prestigious Triple Crown, by defeating James Wade 18-13.
His haul was just the latest milestone in a year where he bagged £500,000 for the World Championship and earned in excess of £500,000 from Premier League success, propelling his career earnings to over £1.5 million.
In a breathtaking display on the night, Littler logged a 107.24 three-dart average, a 42 per cent checkout rate, and no less than 17 180s.
In front of the cameras on Friday, the world champion shared a passionate kiss with Faith Millar, 19, prior to his quarter-final clash with Andrew Gilding.
And after his triumph on Sunday, Littler finally confirmed that the pair are an item, after months of insisting they were merely friends.
A reporter said to the teenage sensation in an interview: 'Your family and girlfriend are here', to which Littler nodded his head.
The gesture was all but a verbal admission that he and Faith have gone official.
The pair were first pictured together in May when Littler shared a photo of them together to his 1.9million followers on Instagram.
Mail Sport had exclusively revealed in March that the duo had bonded, though a source insisted they were just pals.
A source said at the time: 'Faith and Luke have become firm friends and enjoy one another's company a lot.
'Faith and Luke met a few weeks ago. They just clicked and since then have spent quite a bit of time with each other.
'They live quite close to each other so it's been easy to meet up.
'Faith has met Luke's mum and dad and some of the friends he grew up with and she's been round to his mansion a few times.
Both Luke and Faith were keen to play down their relationship for months and insist that they were just friends
'Faith was with him at a BoohooMan event on Monday.
'But despite trying to stay in the background, she's been pestered quite a bit by his fans who are keen to know who she was.
'But there's no bit story there - she's a very ordinary, very sweet, normal girl.
''She works as an eyelash technician in Wigan but realises the fact that she hangs around with Luke, who is really famous, means that people will show her a bit of interest as well, she realises that.
'Faith is a very sweet girl, very bubbly and kind. It's no surprise that she and Luke get on so well.'
Faith declined to comment about the friendship when approached outside her family home.
But a spokesman for Littler confirmed that he and Faith had struck up a friendship but said: 'That's as far as it goes, they are just good friends for now. Nothing more.
'Luke doesn't want a girlfriend at the moment, he's focusing on his darts and is too busy travelling around the country to start up a relationship.'
Millar comes from Wigan, just 15 miles from Luke's home in Warrington, Cheshire.
Littler previously dated beauty consultant Eloise Milburn, who watched on at the 2024 World Darts Championship as an unknown Littler became an instant sensation by reaching the final.
However, Littler reportedly ended the relationship in July of last year after his hectic schedule made it difficult for the pair to spend time together.
Sunday night's win has placed Littler in rarefied air. He is now just the fifth man ever - alongside Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson, and Luke Humphries - to complete Triple Crown.
This includes winning the PDC World Championship, Premier League, and World Matchplay titles.
Littler achieved the monumental milestone after just one and a half years as a professional.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Inside Daniel Farke's giant survival plan: Why Leeds made physicality and set-pieces the focus of their summer - and the one key position they still want to strengthen, writes AADAM PATEL
Inside Daniel Farke's giant survival plan: Why Leeds made physicality and set-pieces the focus of their summer - and the one key position they still want to strengthen, writes AADAM PATEL

Daily Mail​

time28 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

Inside Daniel Farke's giant survival plan: Why Leeds made physicality and set-pieces the focus of their summer - and the one key position they still want to strengthen, writes AADAM PATEL

The running joke at Leeds United this summer is that if you aren't around 26 years old and tall, then the chances are the club aren't interested. And in reality, that is very much the plan, with all seven signings at Elland Road so far at least 5ft 11in and around their prime. When the recruitment team at Leeds set out their strategy for the transfer window and their bid to stay up, physicality and set-pieces were keywords. As one Leeds source told Mail Sport: 'Physicality was something we lacked last season and something we identified as one of the major things we needed to improve if we want to compete in the Premier League. It's no secret either that we had to get better at set-pieces.' Of the 1,115 goals in the Premier League last season, 229 (20.5 per cent) came from set-pieces, excluding penalties. In 2023-24, the figure was 19.8 per cent. 'It's not a coincidence,' said boss Daniel Farke when asked about the signings after Saturday's 1-1 draw against Villarreal. 'If you join the Premier League with one of the smallest groups, there's more pressure. You have to make sure you're good at defending corners and set-pieces. We are more likely to need to score goals from set-pieces because I'm not sure if we can dominate games the way we did in the Championship.' Staying in the Premier League has never been more difficult for newly promoted teams. In the last two seasons, all of the promoted clubs have been immediately relegated, something that had only happened once before, in 1997-98. Leeds' analysis identified the clear difference between intensity levels in the Premier League and the Championship and pinpointed physicality across all positions as something they had to focus on for their return to the top flight. First through the door was 6ft 4in Slovenian central defender Jaka Bijol from Udinese for £15million. The 26-year-old led the rankings at Euro 2024 for clearances (38) and was second behind Virgil van Dijk for headed clearances (21) despite playing in only four games at the tournament. Bijol continued to post impressive defensive numbers in Serie A last season, ranking joint-fourth for aerial duels won (110), fifth for headed clearances (103) and fourth for overall clearances (182). That said, his style does see him on the receiving end of the referee's ire — only two players picked up more yellow cards last season than he did (11), and he was the second most booked defender in Serie A over the last three seasons with 25 yellows. Bijol will be suspended for Leeds' first game against Everton, due to the red card he got playing for Udinese in his last Serie A game in May. Sebastiaan Bornauw is another giant at centre half and fits the bill at 6ft 3in. The 26-year-old signed for £5.1m from Wolfsburg and, with 11 goals in 140 Bundesliga games, will certainly be an asset going up. 'I think as a centre back, I am dangerous in front of goal. I like set-pieces, offensive set-pieces,' the Belgian said when he signed. The 24-year-old led the rankings at Euro 2024 for clearances and was second behind Virgil van Dijk in headed clearances Lukas Nmecha also joined from Wolfsburg and at 6ft 1in will be a handful. There were early signs of his strong hold-up play when he started against Manchester United in Stockholm and he scored in both of Leeds' friendlies in Germany, albeit against weak opposition. Nmecha has struggled with injury, playing only 22 league games in the last two seasons and starting only three, so he was let go for free. The 26-year-old averaged four shots per 90 minutes and had the best expected goals ratio per 90 minutes (0.90) of any player to feature in at least 400 Bundesliga minutes in 2024-25. These are small sample sizes, but Leeds see potential in a player who also has some Premier League experience — he played two games for Manchester City late in their 2017-18 title-winning season. A direct replacement for Junior Firpo will be Swedish left back Gabriel Gudmundsson, who played nine Champions League matches for Lille last season and joined in a deal worth £10m. He scored four goals and got three assists in 137 games for Lille in all competitions and the 26-year-old will be key in moving Leeds upfield, with only two Ligue 1 left backs carrying the ball a further distance (4,032 metres) last season, while none of those had more shots following a ball carry than he did (nine). At 5ft 11in, he is tall for his position and crucially, his injury record is good but Leeds have a hole to fill, with Firpo providing four goals and 10 assists last season. If Gudmundsson can improve his end product, then Leeds may have a gem on their hands. The arrival of Sean Longstaff for £12m from Newcastle offers Leeds something they severely lacked in their last season in the top flight — bundles of Premier League experience. The 27-year-old has played 171 times in the Premier League. Sean Longstaff provides his new side with Premier League experience after making the switch from Newcastle United Longstaff's hard-working style is also bound to endear him to a fanbase who appreciate industrious players willing to give their all — he has covered the most distance per 90 minutes of any Premier League player to play at least 2,500 minutes over the last two seasons (12.3km). Also joining is Anton Stach, the 6ft 4in twice-capped German midfielder who signed from Hoffenheim for £17m. Stach led all Bundesliga players across the past two seasons for interceptions (120), and he ranked third for possession won (393) and fourth for each of tackles (142) and duels won (381). His versatility — similar to that of captain Ethan Ampadu, who is adept in central defence and defensive midfield — could also prove handy. Last season, the 26-year-old filled in at centre back in 33 per cent of his Bundesliga minutes, with the rest coming in midfield. Dealing with set-pieces was also a key factor in signing Brazilian goalkeeper Lucas Perri from Lyon for £15.6m but above all, Leeds wanted a good shot-stopper with a commanding presence. In Ligue 1 last season, according to Opta's xGoT (Expected Goals on Target) goalkeeping model, Perri prevented six goals and posted a save percentage of 72.5 per cent. His numbers were even more impressive in the 2023 Brazilian top flight, registering a 78.4 per cent save ratio — the best of any goalkeeper with 10 or more games — and preventing an incredible 12 goals according to his xGoT. Perri is 27 and like the other arrivals brings important top-level experience. 'They are all really good footballers,' said Farke. 'We don't want to play basketball with them. They fit with what we want to do and they add a special physicality. Speaking about age, this is what I wanted because sometimes you underestimate how important experience at this level is. 'Often, you could go with a 30-plus player who has played many games but is on the way down. I didn't want to do that. We are ambitious and want to be back for good. The pressure is on us and they have to live it straight away. 'For that, I wanted experience of Premier League level, of Bundesliga level, Serie A level and so on. It's important to have players with good age, good experience but not the finished products. 'We didn't want to have projects. We didn't want players just happy to get another contract. We want players who are ambitious. The general theme is quality and players on the way up the hill in their career.' Leeds are still in the market for a first-choice striker, a left winger and are open to back-up options in other positions. As Farke says, central defence and central midfield are sorted and they will go into their Premier League opener against Everton under the lights at Elland Road, ready for battle.

Harry Hill says his stepfather's death made him switch careers from medicine to comedy
Harry Hill says his stepfather's death made him switch careers from medicine to comedy

BBC News

time28 minutes ago

  • BBC News

Harry Hill says his stepfather's death made him switch careers from medicine to comedy

Comedian Harry Hill has said his stepfather's death at a young age was what inspired him to quit his job in medicine and pursue a career in 60-year-old, best known for shows such as Harry Hill's TV Burp and You've Been Framed, studied at St George's Medical School and worked as a doctor before pivoting to comedy in the early told BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs: "It had been a long time coming, and then my stepfather died of cancer."And I thought, here's a man who's worked all his life. And they [my stepfather and mother] had always talked about what they were going to do in retirement. And how old was he? Maybe 54. And I thought, I don't want that to be me." "The other part of it," Hill laughed, "is I think if I'd said to him, 'I'm giving up to be a comedian', he would have been quite disapproving."So it probably kind of set me free a little bit from that. But really, I was kind of at the end of my tether with [medicine]."Hill qualified as a doctor in 1988, and began his medical career working in orthopaedics. But, he explained, he was not passionate about the job and felt he did not have the right temperament."I think it's difficult even if your heart's in it," he told presenter Lauren Laverne. "In the first six months, I had to break the news to this bloke whose wife had died in this operation, unexpectedly, and they had young children, and I was completely out of my depth. "I told him, he started crying, and then I started crying, and I thought, this isn't good. I mean, I certainly wasn't a very emotional [person]. Actually what it makes you do is bottle up your emotions."Asked how long he continued bottling his emotions for, Hill replied: "Until I had kids, I think. There's something about having kids that uncorks you."I wasn't a bad doctor," he reflected. "If I'd stuck at it, I probably would have ended up as a GP." After having doubts about his suitability, Hill had a discussion with his consultant about his career, before telling his mother he was going to have a year off to try leaving his job, Hill said: "I remember getting in the car, and this sounds impossible, driving out of the hospital car park, I turned on the radio, and the tune that came on was Eric Burdon and the Animals, with We Gotta Get Out of This Place."I remember driving away, weight lifted, and I thought, wow, this is really exciting, and it was, and terrifying in equal measure." Hill explained his stepfather, Tony, had met his mother in an amateur dramatics group, and often wrote pantomimes and starred in them as the dame. "He inherited four kids when he married my mum," Hill explained. "And I didn't think it at the time, but that's quite a guy to take that on."At the time, Hill said, it was unusual among his friends that his parents had divorced. "People didn't do it," he recalled. "Everyone's parents are divorced now, but back then, people just stuck it out." 'Stress' of writing TV Burp Hill has presented a variety of TV programmes since leaving medicine, including Harry Hill's Tea Time, Harry Hill's Alien Fun Capsule, Harry Hill's World of TV and a revival of Stars in Their 2019, he has hosted the Great British Bake Off children's spin-off, Junior Bake Off, on Channel his best known programme was Harry Hill's TV Burp, a satirical review of the previous week's television. It ran on ITV for 11 series, airing its final episode in 2012. Hill has previously indicated he would not revive TV Burp because of the intensive workload, a position he reiterated to Laverne. "I made a lot of TV shows, and most of them have been a lot less successful than TV Burp, but I don't look back at those years particularly fondly because of that stress," he said."I would start the week with no show, knowing that on Saturday morning I'd have to sit down and write a show. We'd work one week in advance, off preview tapes, so I'd sit down with a blank page on a Saturday, and at the end of that day I'd have to email it to the producer."While the episode was being pulled together, Hill said he and his team "would watch TV all day long, there were no shortcuts, you did actually have to watch the full two-and-a-half hours of Emmerdale"."The best day was the recording day," he said, "but if you ask my wife, every time I came back from a recording, I'd go upstairs, she'd be in bed, and I'd say 'I've got to get out of this'. It was bad. "But then I'd watch it on the Saturday and think it was great, I did really enjoy watching it."Hill also co-wrote 2021's Tony! (A Tony Blair Rock Opera), and the X Factor musical I Can't Sing, which closed in 2014 after six weeks at the London Palladium. Reflecting on its failure, Hill said: "It became clear to me, that people who like the X Factor don't really go to musicals, and people who go to musicals don't really like the X Factor. It was just a really bad idea."But he added: "You can't be heartbroken, you'd be a complete baby if you got upset about a professional failure."Desert Island Discs is broadcast on BBC Radio 4 at 10:00 BST on Sunday, and is then available on BBC Sounds. BBC News used AI to help write the summary at the top of this article. It was edited by BBC journalists. Find out more.

Aquarius weekly horoscope: What your star sign has in store for August 3
Aquarius weekly horoscope: What your star sign has in store for August 3

The Sun

time28 minutes ago

  • The Sun

Aquarius weekly horoscope: What your star sign has in store for August 3

OUR much-loved astrologer Meg sadly died in 2023 but her column will be kept alive by her friend and protégé Maggie Innes. Read on to see what's written in the stars for you today. AQUARIUS JAN 21 - FEB 18 🔵 Read our horoscopes live blog for the latest readings The full moon is all yours and so is the field – whether love, work or homelife is your prime goal. You wear your heart on your sleeve this week, however hard you may try not to – and all the right people will notice, and respond. Saturn's negative slant may hold up some big words, but never doubt they are on their way, and they will be welcome. A red flag can link you to luck. DESTINY DAYS Get ahead in summer de-cluttering, on Monday. Navigate round a 'B' work barrier on Wednesday. Follow up on a local offer over the weekend. LUCKY LINKS: Two brothers who share a birth month. A musician with a French name, or accent. Words that end in 'N'. What your zodiac sign says about your home decor MARS MOMENTUM: From now right through till late September, you have Mars-enhanced ability to make major learning and earning choices. Yes, you may need to leave your comfort zone, but this can have spectacular results. After a time of inner turmoil, your view of your future, near and far, is crystal clear, energising and so positive. You can finally cut short a love or life journey you sense is going nowhere. And do it in ways that are kind, but clear. So there's no backtracking. Fabulous is the home of horoscopes, with weekly updates on what's in store for your star sign as well as daily predictions. You can also use our series of guides to find out everything from which star sign to hook up with for the steamiest sex to what it's like to .

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store