Andy Fordham was born in London on 2nd February 1962, the eldest of four children. As a schoolboy at Eaglesfield Secondary School, Greenwich he was a keen track and field athlete and football player and earned the nick-name "The Whippet". He continued to play football after he left school and played for The Angerstein Hotel, East Greenwich. After training on Wednesdays he would go to the pub with his team mates, some of whom played in a darts team. Andy was persuaded to play one night when the team were a man down. He says: "I was crap but really enjoyed it. The atmosphere was good, I had a few beers and a good laugh, so I kept at it." Over time he progressed to the Kent Super League and then on to Kent County level.

For Andy darts and drinking went hand-in-hand. "I don't know if I'd have drunk so much if I hadn't played darts. For me drinking had a lot to do with my nerves, especially with the spirits. The first time I qualified for Lakeside I got so nervous in the build up, as I realised there'd be a big crowd watching, I started to drink more and more and more!"

When he stopped playing football after a back injury, but continued to drink and play darts, the weight started to pile on. At one point Andy admits to drinking between 25 and 30 bottles of Holsten Pils a day ... plus volumes of spirits and a couple of bottles of wine. His drinking was to eventually catch up with him.

By 1994 he had won the Swiss and Finnish Opens. He also won the Norway Open in 1995 and again in 2000, the Isle Of Man Open in 1995, the British Pentathlon in 1998 and 2003 and the Welsh Open in 2002.

He made his first appearance at Lakeside in 1995, reaching to the semi-finals before losing to Richie Burnett and in 1996 he again made it to the semis, this time losing to Steve Beaton. Both opponents went on to win the title.

In 1999 he won the prestigious Winmau World Masters at Lakeside, beating Wayne Jones 3-1 and was a semi-finalist in the World Darts Trophy in 2002 (eventually won by the Australian Tony David). In the intervening years, on 27th May 2000, he married Jenny, his partner of 20 years. That was the year he won the Norway Open again.

In 2004 he defied all the odds to take the BDO World Professional Championship title (and a £50,000 purse), beating Mervyn King by 6 to 3 in an exciting final. By now he was the most popular personality on the darts circuit.

It was after this event that he slipped and broke his wrist.

Later in 2004 he withdrew from a match at The Circus Tavern, Purfleet with Phil "The Power" Taylor (billed as the BDO Champion vs the PDC Champion) because he had trouble breathing in the extreme heat of the venue. You can watch that match in it's entirety on the Videos Page. He played Phil Taylor again in the final of  the Masters of Darts in February 2005, but lost 7-1.

He continued to play until, on the 8th January 2007, weighing 31 stones he collapsed at Lakeside and was rushed to hospital. There they drained 18 litres of fluid from his lungs. Shortly afterwards Andy suffered a stroke. The prognosis was grim: Andy had lost about 80% of his liver and doctors told him that he needed a liver transplant. One strong message they gave him was that he must never drink again.

Andy stopped drinking alcohol, started exercising, took nine months off and lost ten stone and the doctors took him off the imminent liver transplant list. His consultant, Dr John O'Grady at London's King's College Hospital, says "If he wants to continue with a reasonable life expectancy he will need a transplant at some stage, but his quality of life, sense of wellbeing and health have all improved dramatically as a result of the action he has taken, showing how restorative the liver can be if it is allowed time to recover."

He re-entered the arena at the Turunc Open in Turkey, where he reached the semi-finals. He has now lost 15 stone and says "Jenny says I'm not half the man I used to be, and she's not kidding."

In January 2009 Andy joined the PDC and recorded his first victory on the PDC circuit at the Players Championship in Derby on 18 April 2009, defeating Jon Archer 6-4 before losing 3-6 to James Wade. Wade went on to take to title. At the qualifiers for the PartyPoker.net Las Vegas Desert Classic in June he beat Gregory Coburn 5-2 and then lost 5-1 to Mark Stephenson.

Where did the name The Viking come from? Well, Andy says: "Bobby George started it off years ago. I went to see him in an exhibition round our way, and later, in a little column he used to write, he put that Andy "The Viking" Fordham had been to see him. Next thing I knew a mate turned up to see me play in full Viking gear, head to toe, and it just stuck. But it seemed to suit me, being a big man with long hair and the beard."

Andy and Jenny now run the "The Cutty Sark" in Thamesmead, having already run "The Queen's Arms" in Woolwich and "The Rose" public house in Dartford.

PROFILE
Country :	England
Date Of Birth :	2nd February1962
Nickname :	The Viking
Home Town :	Dartford
Wife :	Jenny
Married :	27 May 2000
Children :	Raymond and Emily
Occupation :	Publican
Height :	6 ft.
Supports :	Millwall and Glasgow Rangers
Played darts since :	1994
PDPA :	Yes
PDC Ranking :	398
DDB Ranking :	703
DDB Popularity :	46
Career Earnings :	£241,359
Entrance Music :	"I'm Too Sexy" by Right Said Fred