DANCING DETA’S FIRST PAST THE POSTIE

Hedman’s prepared for Ally Pally showdown with tough 13-hour shifts at a Royal Mail sorting office

ON her 13-hour night shifts at the Royal Mail sorting office, Deta Hedman is pure gold, franking sense and mirth.

While the nation sleeps, Hedman processes more parcels and post than any postman – or fat bloke in a red tunic on a sledge pulled by reindeer – could fit into a sack.

And in her lunch hour, normally at 1am, she practises on the dartboard her bosses allowed her to mount in the games room to prepare for the biggest night of her career.

Tonight at Alexandra Palace, 61-year-old Hedman – the last woman left in the tournament – hopes to become the surprise package of the William Hill PDC World Championship.

If she beats ‘X-Factor’ Andy Boulton, ranked No.62 in the world, she will be the greatest thing to come out of the Post Office since Raymond van Barneveld ditched his bike and became a five- time world champion.

Hedman, who joined her parents in Britain aged 13 after they emigrated from Jamaica, has been clocking off at 4am every night this week.

But at least she will have enjoyed some sleep before taking on Boulton – which has not always been the case at other tournaments.

She said: “I never complain about work. I am grateful to have a job. It’s all hands on deck at the moment, since this lockdown.

“But there have been times when I’ve gone straight from work to play abroad with halfan-hour’s sleep between games.

“I’m lucky my bosses gave me permission to put up a dartboard. It’s not just me who has a practice on it – quite a few people play chipped in.

“At the moment, it’s in my lunch hour where I get my practice in. It’s normally 1am for my lunch! I have my dinner and then grab 30 minutes’ practice.

“I’m excited about playing Andy but there’s no point in putting pressure on yourself – I’ll just take it in my stride.”

Hedman (in action, right) reached her first PDC world championship by edging out last year’s Queen of the Palace, Fallon Sherrock, 85- 83 on a countback of legs won at the women’s qualifying tournament.

She said: “Tournament director Graham Fairhurst came over and told me I had qualified by two legs. I said, ‘ Don’t be winding me up because I won’t be happy’ – but it was for real. I had this towel and I just put my head in it and cried like a baby.”

For Hedman, a place in the second round would be worth a darts, so we all guaranteed £15,000 – easily her biggest payday in darts, and light years from the poverty of her upbringing in rural Jamaica.

Home was once a wooden building with a tin roof and a veranda, with only a paraffin lamp for lighting.

Once a week they would collect produce from a farm down the hill and d load it on a mule and donkey ey to sell at market three hours urs away.

But Hedman has no thoughts of quitting ing her job at the he

Royal Mail – even n if she wins lifechanging money at Ally Pally.

She added:

“Dar t s has always been, and still is, a hobby. . Working for the e

Royal Mail is a good job and it pays ays my bills. Why would uld I want to quit?”