Darts ace Andy Fordham may need a liver transplant, he has revealed.

Mr Fordham and his wife Jenny used to run The Rose pub in Overy Street in Dartford, but he stepped down in March last year after health problems.

The pair have since made a new life for themselves at the Cutty Sark pub in Thamesmead, South London.

But Mr Fordham, nicknamed The Viking, revealed he is suffering from cirrhosis, a scarring of the liver, and is set to need further treatment.

Mr Fordham, who won the professional darts title in 2004, will find out on Friday what his course of treatment will be.

However he has said doctors are not ruling out the possibility of a transplant.

He said: "The doctor told me sometime last year that I would probably have to have a transplant and sent me to Kings College hospital for assessments."

Mr Fordham, 46, once tipped the scales at more than 30 stone.

But after giving up the beer together with a dramatic lifestyle change, he slimmed down to under 20 stone.

He said: "It was just too much. I cannot put figures on it but it was every day and the spirits got to me."

Mr Fordham said his wife was coping well with the news.

He said: "She’s all right. It is one of those things. It is my own fault. The doctors told me this could happen. It is not nice but who can you blame but yourself."

Specialists have told the darts player that he could wait anything between one month and a year for a transplant.

Although he is not involved in the game at the moment Mr Fordham has not ruled out a return to competition once his health has improved.

He said: "Once I get sorted out hopefully I can get back into things. But obviously I have got other things on my mind now."