Luke Littler takes cheeky swipe at David Beckham during Sports Personality of the Year Awards

Darts sensation Luke Littler had the audience in stitches at the Sports Personality of the Year awards with a playful comment about football icon David Beckham.

Darts champion Luke Littler took a playful jab at football star David Beckham during the Sports Personality of the Year awards last night. The 17-year-old had previously shared that Beckham had texted him good luck during last year's World Darts Championship.

When asked about the moment he received the text, Littler couldn't resist making a cheeky remark. During the interview with TV host Gabby Logan, Littler was asked if receiving the text from Beckham was one of his biggest "pinch me" moments of 2024. With a grin, he responded: "He's not followed me though."

The remark had the audience laughing, and Logan quipped: "I think that's a plea." When asked to answer her original question, Littler went on to say: "I think going to Carrington and meeting all the United squad."

Littler is too young to have watched Beckham in his heyday at Old Trafford but has spent time around the current United squad. During an interview earlier this year, the Premier League Darts champion recalled interacting with some of his football heroes on a visit to Carrington.

Recounting the time her met the football team, Littler told MMA Hour : “I met them at the training ground, it was crazy. McTominay and Maguire, they were the big ones who were excited to see me. It’s just like Rashford walking past me, shaking his hand. Martial, Varane, Casemiro and I’m just like what’s going on? I got a signed shirt off Garnacho.”

Last night, Middle-distance runner Keely Hodgkinson claimed the Sports Personality of the Year trophy, with Littler finishing a close second.

Littler quickly became a household name after his remarkable run to the World Championship final earlier this year. He captured the imagination of the sporting world, defying expectations before ultimately finishing as runner-up to Luke Humphries at the Darts Championship.

The Nuke is set to get his second world championship campaign underway on Saturday, but is yet to discover his opponent as he enters in the second round. Former darts player Phil Taylor was full of praise for the prodigious talent but warned that his focus should be on another startling performance in darts' biggest competition.

Giving advice to Littler ahead of the upcoming game, Taylor said: "Littler is playing like a magician, but Luke Humphries is the man to beat at Ally Pally. He’s the reigning champion, he’s No.1 in the world and Littler will have to get past him in the semi-finals if the draw unfolds the way you would expect.

“If I was Luke’s manager I’d tell him, ‘Sorry, you’re not going.’ Do you want to hang out with a few celebrities on a red carpet, or do you want to win £500,000? And the prize money is only part of it - if Luke wins the world title at 17 years old, the spin-offs and commercial deals will be astronomical, proper life-changing money.

"I was lucky enough to be voted Sports Personality runner-up in 2010, and I did attend the event, but I was 50 years old and I’d won 15 world titles by then. If I was Luke, I’d record a video message."

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