But the man known as “The Viking” has made a welcome return to the oche after an 8-month hiatus with a new and improved trimmed-down frame after shedding 10 stones of excess weight thanks to a 10-week crash diet. The slimline Fordham recently competed in the Turunc Open in Turkey, reaching the semi-finals of the tournament.

Health problems

Fordham’s weight persistently stopped him cashing in on the glory of his 2004 BDO world championship triumph. He was famously forced to withdraw midway through a live televised clash with PDC darts king Phil “The Power” Taylor after suffering breathing difficulties brought on by onstage heat.

After admitting to being in a habit of drinking 25 bottles of lager every day, Fordham enrolled in ITV’s Celebrity Fit Club alongside TV presenter Paul Ross and former Coronation Street star Julie Goodyear. He lost around 3 stones. But disaster struck again at the 2007 world championships as he pulled out his first round match complaining of chest pains. Weeks later, he was hospitalised after suffering a minor stroke.

Fordham’s weight-shedding rehabilitation mirrors that of former American sumo champion Emanuel “Tiny” Yarbrough. Throughout his career as in mixed martial arts, sumo and American Football, Yarbrough’s weight fluctuated between 40 and 50 stones and he was officially recognized as the world’s heaviest athlete. In August 2007, he embarked on a dramatic crash course diet, aiming to shed up to 15 stones of excess weight in order to compete in the US 2008 Olympic judo trials.