Willie Thorne 4 March 1954 – 17 June 2020

No need to say which one is him

There were but four channels to fill the one or two screens at home and, in the 80s, one of them was probably showing the snooker. We watched for hours, mesmerised as the besuited players would pot the red then screw back for the yellow, green, brown, blue, pink and black. We got to know the big players, but we also got to know the bit players too, the breezes as well as the hurricanes. One such was Willie Thorne.

The Great Break Builder was instantly recognisable under the TV lights (you could sometimes count them reflected on his shiny pate) and he was much respected by his fellow pros and the commentators. To us, raised on the mercurial Higgins, the consistent Reardon and the robotic Davis, Thorne was more of a red shirted lieutenant to these Kirks and Spocks. We recognised his talent, but he was really there to make the others look good and never lasted very long.

Like many sportsmen and sportswomen who don’t quite make the grade at the very highest level, he found an early route into the commentary box, an environment in which, with the pressure more than a cue’s length away, he thrived. With his comforting flat Leicester accent given just enough modulation by a distinctive, ever so slightly camp tone, he did his best work analysing long safety duels and (fittingly) describing how breaks were being constructed. He was a bridge between the old school “Whispering Ted” Lowe and Clive Everton styles at the mic and the louder, more “We’re part of the entertainment too” approach of commentating that emerged in the 90s.

Every so often, either in the post-session pundit’s chair or in a trickshot clip rolled after Hendry had 13-3ed an early opponent, we’d appreciate the dry humour, the facility with words and empathy with audience honed over countless exhibition matches in Batley or Buxton. You could tell he was good company and how he had earned his reputation amongst those on and off the table.

He had his problems, his gambling taking him well beyond the fun stopping, but he was hardly alone in succumbing to that temptation.

There’ll be many surprised to learn that he’s gone at 66 as he always looked older. He didn’t quite get enough to secure the frame, but we enjoyed watching him get them – and, well, that was Willie.