THE 2006 Ladbrokes.com World Championship will mark the end of an era, with veteran referee Freddie Williams appearing for the final time on stage.

Fred, 69, has been an ever-present within the PDC since its formation in 1994, and has officiated at the highest level for 35 years.

However, he will take charge of a game in a major PDC tournament for the final time on Boxing Day before retiring from the stage, perhaps fittingly in his home county of Essex.

He will still be involved with the PDC as second referee, and will continue to work at JR Darts tournaments such as Great Yarmouth and Eastbourne.

"Now is the time to bow out," said Fred. "You have to give it some thought but as I've been in the game for 35 years I felt it was time to go.

"I discussed things with Tommy Cox and agreed that, as I've done 27 World Championships, this would be a good time.

"It's a little bit strange, because although I will miss being on stage I am not walking away altogether.

"I don't know about having a tear in my eye - I'm not that kind of guy! - but it has been a long road and not to be refereeing in the future will seem quite strange."

Originally involved with the National Darts Association of Great Britain as a marker, he moved on to work with the Essex County team before stepping onto the BDO stage.

He first appeared in an Embassy Championship in 1980 and was the referee when John Lowe made history in 1984 by hitting the first nine-dart leg in a televised tournament.

"The thing that has always stood out was when John hit the first nine-dart finish and I was the referee," he said.

"That has got to be a highlight because it was the first one on television and a little bit special, to say the least."

Fred, along with Bruce Spendley, joined the World Darts Council in 1993 and has become a popular figure in the professional era.

With wife Pat working as the PDC's official scorer, the pair have travelled the world through darts, both for major tournaments and on the exhibition circuit.

"We've been lucky enough to travel all over the British Isles and Europe, and also to America a few times and China," he added.

"After I left my previous job I took the step of moving into darts full-time. I worked on the exhibition circuit and did a few other things.

"Working with Cliff Lazarenko for 14 years, we did hundreds of shows together and became quite a partnership.

"When you live and work with a guy for that long you do form an attachment and I still consider him to be one of the best exhibition players there is."

Lazarenko too enjoyed their travels representing Carlsberg-Tetley, and was full of praise for his former MC and referee.

"At the height of things we were doing 30-50 shows a year and as far as I was concerned he was my number one, the best there was," says Cliff.

"He was always fantastic, he always looked smart, was on time and I think he is a credit to the game.

"Fred has already called me and said he'll come out of retirement for me if anything came up!

"He said to me that I was one of the easiest players he has worked with, and though it's tough being on the road we had loads of laughs and did the hard work together.

"It didn't matter the size of the crowd, we always wanted to leave people having had a good time and we had a good bit of banter going between us.

"He's been fantastic for the game and has got so much background on the game, the players and also how people play the game."

Perhaps the person who has worked closest to Fred is Tommy Cox, who paid tribute to the impact he has made during his refereeing career.

"I have known Fred Williams for 15 years and have known of him for a lot longer than that," he said.

"When I first started putting together an officials team for the fledgling WDC, Fred and his colleague Bruce Spendley were the first two names on my wishlist of referees.

"Fred's voice is synonomous with darts calling and is arguably the best known in the history of televised darts.

"He was a stalwart of the British Darts Organisation for many years and it was a real dilemma he faced in 1993 whwn he had to choose between two organisations who valued his services.

"The BDO's loss was the PDC's gain when Fred decided to throw in his lot with the new organisation. His knowledge of darts, his counting ability and the ease with which he took command of a match made him the perfect referee.

"Although he is stepping down from the main stage I am delighted that Fred has accepted the position of second Referee at major PDC events. And just as he has done before, I'm sure that Fred will be successful in his new role.

"He is a true legend in his field."