Andy Fordham’s grieving widow says begging the darts legend to give up alcohol bought them 14 extra years together before he died of organ failure.
‘The Viking’, as he was known to fans of his sport, died of major organ failure in hospital in July aged just 59 after suffering numerous health scares in the later stages of his life.
Cancer survivor Jenny, 58, who ran The Rose pub in Dartford with Andy, says that before ordering her husband to ditch the booze he could sink up to 77 beers in one day.
In an interview with the Mirror, Jenny says that her husband ‘turned everything around’ after their frank conversation and says that she will always cherish her 42 years with Andy.
Andy Fordham’s grieving widow says begging the darts legend to give up alcohol bought them 14 extra years together before he died of organ failure. The couple are pictured together in London
‘The Viking’, as he was known to fans of his sport, died of major organ failure in hospital in July aged just 59 after suffering numerous health scares in the later stages of his life. He is pictured during the Final of the Lakeside World Professional Darts Championships in 2004
‘I told him, “When I had cancer I got up every day, I put my make-up on, I went behind the bar and I worked. I didn’t know if I was going to survive. They told you, stop drinking and you will be all right, you will live”,’ she said.
The ultimatum came after Andy was rushed to hospital in 2007 and told by doctors that his liver was on the verge of failing, promoting him to quit drinking and shed 16 stone.
‘There were tears and a few words were said and then in the morning he woke a completely different person’, said Jenny.
‘It was amazing when he stopped drinking. He turned everything around after that. Everyone was like, “It’s like having a new man”.’
Cancer survivor Jenny, 58, who ran The Rose pub in Dartford with Andy, says that before ordering her husband to ditch the booze he could sink up to 77 beers in one day
The darts player suffered from serious health problems throughout his life, once weighing 31 stone while drinking 25 bottles of lager a day.
He was known for his heavy drinking habits and once drank 62 bottles of Pils after celebrating he and his wife Jenny’s first wedding anniversary in 2001.
While appearing on Celebrity Fit Club in 2004, Fordham revealed he gave up drinking beer and replaced instead drank six bottles of wine a day while on a five-day stag do in Tenerife.
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Despite this, he would go on to win the programme’s biggest loser challenge, losing more than three stone.
Following his world championship triumph, he faced off against Phil Taylor in a box office clash titled The Showdown in 2005, but collapsed at the oche.
The darts player suffered from serious health problems throughout his life, once weighing 31 stone while drinking 25 bottles of lager a day
Fordham’s final professional appearance came in 2018 at the World Masters. He was hospitalised in March 2020 with a bowel problem, leading to him having 16 litres of fluid drained from his body.
Friends said he had been fighting ill health for 14 months before his death, but his determination to get better meant he bravely gave little hint of any problems publicly.
He also contracted Covid in January this year and revealed to The Sun in a tearful interview that doctors warned him that the disease could hit him ‘very quickly’.
‘This is the scariest thing I’ve ever had to face in my life,’ he said.
‘My biggest fear is waking up one morning, not being able to breathe and being placed in the back of the ambulance – then not seeing my wife and children again.
Last month it was confirmed that he had passed away in hospital after suffering major organ failure. He is pictured with wife Jenny in 2005
‘When you get the virus you suddenly realise everything you take for granted.
‘I am sitting thinking a lot about all the things I’d miss if this virus overcomes me, like seeing my grandchildren grow up. I’m just hoping and praying I come through it.’
Last month it was confirmed that he had passed away in hospital after suffering major organ failure.
His devoted wife Jenny, who was at his bedside as he passed away, said in tribute to him: ‘Andy was, is, and always will be my champion’.
He was laid to rest at a service in Chislehurst, south east London and was remembered by around 200 mourners who came to pay their respect at his funeral.
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