The 2003 BDO World Darts Championship was a professional darts tournament held from 4 to 12 January 2003 at the Lakeside Country Club in Frimley Green, Surrey. It was the 26th staging of the competition since the 1978 edition and the 18th time it took place at the Lakeside Country Club. The competition was the first of 14 British Darts Organisation (BDO) tournaments in 2003 and featured a women's world championship for the third time. It was broadcast by the BBC in the United Kingdom and was sponsored by the cigarette company Embassy.

Raymond van Barneveld is a Dutch professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. Nicknamed "Barney", although originally known as "The Man", he is one of the most successful darts players in history. Van Barneveld is a five-time World Darts Champion, a two-time UK Open Champion and a former winner of the Las Vegas Desert Classic, the Grand Slam of Darts and the Premier League. He is also a twice-winner of the World Masters and the World Darts Trophy, and a three-time winner of the International Darts League, the Dutch Open and the WDF World Cup Singles event.