Should sport’s walk-on girls be ditched?
WHAT is the point of walk-on girls during darts tournaments (Mail)? I would never describe TV darts as a mainstream sport, but since it has been rebooted on Sky it has become more popular. A professional MC whips the crowd into a frenzy as he exaggerates the sporting prowess of the gladiators as they enter the arena to their own theme songs. And alongside them is a pretty girl adorned with the sponsor’s logo and dressed to the nines. Why? It’s not the only sport that uses young women to glam things up — grid girls in the pit lanes at Formula One are also being dropped. Boxing may be all about two guys beating the hell out of each other, but we used to see scantily clad women walking around the ring between rounds holding up boards. Some say having pretty girls walking alongside unhealthy looking darts players is just a bit of fun, but after calls to scrap them, the women are complaining they are losing their living. But isn’t the precariousness of the work part of the life of being a model? If these women feel hard done by that they can no longer earn good money by just walking on and off a stage, then maybe they need to consider another profession.
DAVID PATRICK MOORE, Thornton Heath, S. London. I USED to be a promotions girl and fail to see what all the fuss is about with the hostesses at the Presidents Club dinner at the Dorchester. No one was inveigled or forced into the job. It’s nice to look at pretty girls in beautiful dresses. I despair of the way the world has gone mad over harassment. Are there not rather more pressing things to worry about, such as terrorism?
GILLIE COGHLAN, Burford, Oxon. THE Presidents Club should hold another charity fund-raising dinner, but instead of hiring hostesses, the men should be told to bring along their daughters or nieces to fulfil this role.
ELAINE BARROW, Stock, Essex.