Luke Littler admits he thought he would be facing pub players on his recent Netflix show but says top women’s player Fallon Sherrock was a worthy winner.

Sherrock claimed the £501,000 jackpot when she triumphed in a one-off leg of 501 against the world champion on ‘Beat Luke Littler’.

While there were some low-level opponents, such as an Australian jockey, a bin man and a Nando’s manager, the show has come under fire after Sherrock, who has reached the third round of the World Championship and been awarded an MBE for her services to darts, was in the line-up, along with leading junior players Mitchell Lawrie and Zach Griffiths.

They were all eligible for entry because they do not hold a PDC Tour card, but Littler admits he was surprised when he saw the make-up of 24 players and knew “over half of them”.

“Before I saw the line-up, I thought it was just pub players,” he told the Press Association.

“Whereas obviously when the line-up came out, I probably knew just over half of them.

“Mitchell, Zach Griffiths – I played with him on the Development Tour – obviously Fallon, Katie Sheldon and a lot more.

“I mean Fallon, she’s never had a Tour card, so she went for the qualifiers and she made it through.

“But then she wasn’t guaranteed to play. She went in on a vote.”

Sherrock made it through a rigorous audition process and then had to rely on the public to select her to take on Littler in a bid to win half a million pounds.

Littler dispatched 14 contestants in a race to 501 but came unstuck against Sherrock when she won the bull to throw first and then checked out in 15 darts.

“It was a very good night overall,” he added, speaking in his role as an ambassador for KP Nuts. “I think from my side it was very good.

“From Netflix’s side, it was very good.

“I think the whole thing was probably a learning curve. For me, constantly playing back-to-back, especially in the heat.

“I was going off and on stage, but I think it’s all a learning curve for us and for Netflix.

“I’m up for another one and I’m sure Netflix will be as well.”

Littler is doing more for the growth of darts than anyone has ever done before and wants to make the most of his platform.

“I want to grow darts as big as possible,” he added ahead of the Grand Slam of Darts this weekend. “I want to grow my profile as big as possible.

“There aren’t many people who could say they’ve got their own show and I’ve had my own show on Netflix, which is just still bonkers to me.

“But because of the schedule, we’ve just got to move on.”

:: Luke Littler and KP Nuts have launched ‘Hit the Bullseye’, giving fans the chance to win £20,000, dartboards and daily prizes by scanning the QR code on promotional packs available in pubs and shops now. Visit https://kpnutsfordarts.com/ for more info.