Luke Humphries explains his forehead mark — and what he still doesn’t know

Luke Humphries said the mark on his forehead began as a rash after filming Bullseye, addressing it after his World Grand Prix win over Dave Chisnall in Leicester on September 29. His explanation, published by DartsNews on September 30, points to a suspected reaction to television makeup, but does not establish the cause.

The crucial qualification came from Humphries himself: “That is what I think it is, but I don't know.” He said he had not seen a doctor about it at the time, adding: “But I'm fully well. I've just got that on my head.”

What Luke Humphries said happened to his forehead

Speaking to reporters including DartsNews, Humphries described a sequence that started with a television appearance: “I did Bullseye filming on Tuesday. Woke up Wednesday with a massive rash on the side of my head.” He said it grew worse before scabbing over.

Humphries did not give calendar dates for that filming session or the morning when he noticed the rash. His Tuesday-to-Wednesday account establishes the order he described; it does not place the shoot on the same Tuesday as his match against Chisnall.

Why Humphries joked about fighting

Humphries began his answer with a joke: “I really wanted to bring up some amazing stories like I fought five guys and they came off worse than me.” He immediately explained that he had no such story, before giving his account of filming and the rash.

He returned to the joke at the end: “So I'd love to tell you that I've had a great story about headbutting 10 people. But unfortunately, I haven't.” Read together, those remarks were a way of introducing and closing his explanation, not an admission that a fight had happened.

What is Humphries’ connection to Bullseye?

Humphries’ association with the programme is also recorded by ITV. The broadcaster’s Bullseye listing names Freddie Flintoff as host and Richard Ashdown as scorer, and identifies Humphries as a participating professional in its episode-two description.

Bullseye brings darts and general knowledge together. ITV describes teams pairing an amateur darts player with a partner who answers questions, competing through questions and darts boards for prizes. That format provides the television context for Humphries’ account of being made up for filming.

For the programme’s earlier revival, ITV’s Christmas-special record lists a December 22, 2024 broadcast with Flintoff presenting and Luke Littler appearing. That was an earlier programme: it does not identify the filming session Humphries described in his September 2026 interview.

How Humphries played after explaining the mark

The interview followed a victory that left Humphries dissatisfied with his darts. He described his performance against Chisnall as “very, very shaky”, with good legs and bad ones. He was pleased to have won, but wanted greater consistency.

He subsequently returned to competition on October 1 and beat Jermaine Wattimena 3–0 to reach the quarter-finals. Darts World’s report from Leicester recorded a 94.11 average and said he began scoring within three darts in every leg of the double-start contest.

“I was a lot better tonight than I was on Tuesday,” Humphries said in that report. The 2023 World Grand Prix champion added that he had wanted to put his opening performance right and felt he had done so against Wattimena.

What remains unconfirmed about the forehead mark

That later match establishes that Humphries continued competing after explaining the mark. It does not establish whether the rash had healed or what caused it. His account described a rash that scabbed over; it did not establish a lasting scar or a traumatic head injury.