Sky Sports star Abigail Davies opens up on eating disorder battle and campaign to help others

Warning, delicate subjects that immoderate readers whitethorn find distressing: Sky Sports shot and darts newsman Abigail Davies opens up astir her combat to assistance chap eating upset sufferers

Abigail Davies is determined to usage her level to assistance different eating disorder sufferers get the assistance they need.

The Sky Sports darts and shot newsman archetypal suffered from anorexia arsenic a kid and accepts it is an unwellness she volition person to header with for life. She continues to beryllium near appalled by the deficiency of enactment that is disposable to sufferers and is determined to rise awareness.

Davies hasn't been acrophobic to unfastened up astir her struggles connected societal media, portion erstwhile Sky Sports workfellow Jeff Stelling has lent his enactment by speaking passionately astir the subject.

"Aside from my emotion of sport, the biggest passionateness successful my beingness is warring for intelligence wellness equality," said Davies successful an interrogation for Reach’s 2025 darts preview publication.

"I'm continuing the run and combat for amended entree to treatment. Eating disorders person the highest mortality complaint of each intelligence illnesses. Yet, radical surviving with eating disorders are perpetually fto down.

"It's an unwellness which makes you consciousness unworthy and a burden. Those feelings are reinforced by the shoddy, and for immoderate non-existent, assistance available. I cognize what it's similar to scope a constituent of hopelessness and emptiness, to the constituent wherever I've tried to extremity things."

Davies relapsed past twelvemonth soon earlier the 2024 World Darts Championship. Fresh from the 2025 World Championship, she is successful a amended spot personally but remains determined to run for change.

Davies works with the Dump the Scales campaign, headed by mental health campaigner Hope Virgo. The inaugural raises consciousness of the thousands of radical missing retired connected attraction and support.

In her youth, Davies was denied attraction due to the fact that her value wasn't debased enough. Meanwhile, immoderate sufferers are present being offered palliative care.

"I was told to instrumentality erstwhile I'd mislaid much weight, which resulted successful maine astir dying, some from attempted termination and my assemblage shutting down due to the fact that of organs failing," the 33-year-old recalled.

"That's wherefore I judge I volition unrecorded with anorexia for the remainder of my life. I relapsed past twelvemonth and conscionable avoided different infirmary admission. When I had treatment, it was a stark realisation that entree to attraction hasn't travel connected that overmuch since I initially needed it erstwhile I was 12/13.

"I went to my GP and told him I'd mislaid my play and that my assemblage was shutting down. He conscionable laughed and said, 'You definite you're not pregnant?'

"There are truthful galore radical successful that aforesaid position, and they're near to fend for themselves and unrecorded with this devastating unwellness until they are a terrible risk.

"Now palliative attraction is being offered to eating upset sufferers. It goes from 'You're not sick capable to person treatment' to 'You're present excessively sick to person treatment, truthful we'll springiness you palliative care'. I find it distressing that it's been offered.

"It's an unwellness that grinds you down and makes you consciousness wholly worthless. So I would person taken it [palliative care] erstwhile I was successful my darkest days.

"Eating disorders person been pushed to 1 broadside for excessively long. We're warring to marque definite much lives aren't mislaid and truthful radical tin regain a prime of beingness a batch sooner and not spell done the trauma that galore of america person experienced."

The enactment of her "idol" Stelling successful 1 of his last Soccer Saturday broadcasts successful 2023 meant a large woody to Davies, who aspired to beryllium a sports newsman from a young age.

"When I was successful my infirmary furniture connected a psychiatric ward, I'd constitute lucifer reports, conscionable for myself," she reflected. "It was that imagination of proceeding him [Stelling] propulsion to maine astatine a crippled that I was clinging to.

"To not lone realise that imagination but to person your sporting idol beryllium passionate astir the different origin that is truthful adjacent to your bosom meant everything to me."

If you're struggling and request to talk, the Samaritans run a escaped helpline unfastened 24/7 connected 116 123. Alternatively, you tin email jo@samaritans.org oregon sojourn their tract to find your section branch.