ANDY'S ON STRAIGHT AND ARROW
DAILY STAR SUNDAY
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3rd January 2010
By Dominik Lemanski

DARTS legend Andy Fordham plans to hit a double this year – by getting on his bike for charity and celebrating his new slimmer form.

The former world champion slimmed down from a whopping 30st after doctors warned him his hard-drinking ways would kill him.

They told him he would also need a liver transplant in order to survive.

But after ditching the booze and shedding nine stone, Andy has learned he may not need the op.

“It’s amazing, really. After I stopped drinking I was told my liver would last between three to five years.

“Now the doctors tell me there is a chance I might not even need a transplant.”

After turning his life around, Andy has written his ­autobiography, Andy Fordham – The Viking.

At the book’s launch he told us: “My whole lifestyle has ­completely changed. I have not had a drink since January 8, 2007.

“These days I drink coffee or Coke and sometimes a ­non-alcoholic lager when I am in a social setting.

“I used to be too lazy to go anywhere and I was ­embarrassed to go places where I would have to ask people to move to let me sit down.

“I knew there was a problem when I was on Celebrity Fit Club in 2005 when I could not even walk around the football pitch.

“I only went on because my wife Jenny forced me to but I’m so glad she did.” Now he plans to cycle across Europe to raise £30,000 for sufferers of Glycogen Storage Disease – a condition affecting the body’s ability to turn glucose into energy.

“My friend Luca’s daughter suffers from the condition and we hope the money raised will fund research into the disease,” he said.

“It’s a great cause but I also hope to lose some weight while I’m out there.

“At one stage I lost 14st but that was too much. Now I’m 21st. I think I need to slim down to 18st.

“I will not be doing the whole 1,380 miles, though. I intend to do about 300-400 miles – ­preferably the downhill stretches of the Alps!”

Andy is also hoping to get back on top of his darts game. “I’ve had to learn to play without alcohol,” he said. “Now I just hope I can go full circle and become world champion again.

“That would be amazing.”

Andy Fordham – The Viking is on sale now.