Steve Farmer in shape for Palace darts date

Slimline Shropshire darter Steve Farmer believes he will be barely recognisable when he hits the small screen this weekend – but is hoping his performance will leave a lasting impression.

The 46-year-old, who has family roots in Church Stretton but now lives in Hadley in Telford, has lost almost four-and-a-half-stone since the summer.

And that means a very different Farmer will take to the oche for the first round of the Ladbrokes World Championship at London's Alexandra Palace when he takes on No 14 seed Ronnie Baxter on Saturday afternoon (2pm).

"I've lost a lot of weight and feel much better for it," said Farmer.

"I go on the treadmill a couple of times a day and I go on a seven-mile run three times a week.

"I would like to take that forward and do a half marathon.

"I'm eating the right things more now and drinking five pints of water a day and it's all helping.

"I feel much more alert now and it's definitely helping with my darts."

This weekend will be Farmer's second appearance in the biggest tournament in darts which carries a prize fund of £1m.

He was beaten 3-0 by Paul Nicholson 12 months ago but feels he will benefit from that experience.

"The more you do something the more comfortable you become with it and that goes for playing on TV," he added.

"I've had a good preparation. I've done four or five hour practice sessions and I'm going down the day before to get ready.

"It's a tough draw because Ronnie's a great player – he always plays a solid game.

"We've played three times and he's winning 2-1 so hopefully I can level it up.

"The main thing I want to do is do myself justice."

The tournament starts tomorrow night with defending champion Adrian Lewis amongst the stars in action in the opening session.