BBC’s ‘voice of snooker’ and Big Break joker John Virgo entertained millions on TV after becoming UK champion during his playing days – but his success also came at a price, including a £200,000 gambling habit that cost him a home.
The snooker great and trick shot specialist, whose death aged 79 has prompted widespread tributes, was open in recent years about the demons he battled – before Big Break provided a lucky and redemptive break.
After winning the UK Championship in 1979, his snooker career declined in the 1980s as the gambling addiction fostered during teenage years in Manchester billiard halls spiralled.
He appeared to be at his lowest ebb in 1990, his playing career reduced mainly to novelty exhibition appearances.
He later recalled spending £10,000 in two weeks to bet on horses and borrowing £200,000 against his mortgage to fund his losses – with his Surrey home going on to be repossessed as a result.
Yet it was an unexpected second act that helped turn his life back around – his role as co-host, alongside comedian Jim Davidson, on primetime BBC1 show Big Break.
The programme, which ran between 1991 and 2002, was even said to be a favourite of Margaret and Denis Thatcher’s.
And Virgo – popular for his dry-witted quips, impersonations of other snooker stars and catchphrase ‘Where’s the cue ball going?’ – later credited Big Break with saving him, as well as helping introduce him to third wife Rosie.
Snooker legend and TV favourite John Virgo, pictured during an exhibition match at the Crucible in Sheffield in May 2015, has died at the age of 79
Jim Davidson (left) and John Virgo co-hosted BBC snooker game show Big Break between 1991 and 2002 – Virgo later credited the show with helping save him from ruin
Virgo was married since 2009 to publishing executive Rosie – the pair are seen here attending the Bournemouth funeral of former DJ and TV presenter Ed Stewart in January 2016
His unflinching while anecdote-packed 2017 autobiography was called Say Goodnight, JV – the line with which Davidson would end each edition of Big Break.
Virgo recalled: ‘He was a cockney Tory and I was a northern socialist but we had a chemistry that made it work.’
After being born on March 4 1946 in Salford, lifelong Manchester United fan Virgo’s fascination with snooker had an unlikely source during his childhood.
He was fascinated by a broken snooker cue used by his mother to unfasten an airing rack from the ceiling of the family home in a terraced row in Salford.
He then received his first snooker baize as an eight-year-old on Christmas Day 1958 – used for playing frames when draping the 6ft 3in surface across the dinner table.
Virgo’s teenage years spending much of his time in a Temperance Billiards Hall in Manchester honed his craft.
His teenage years in such venues also introduced him to betting on horses and greyhounds – ultimately playing a more damaging role in the years to come.
The 1970s saw snooker begin to thrive as a hit with viewers, boosted by the introduction of spread of colour television, and Virgo turned professional in 1976.
Virgo, pictured playing at the 1987 Embassy World Snooker Championship in April that year, came his great triumph by winning the 1979 UK Championship
He remained a long-running and popular part of the BBC’s snooker commentary team – here seen covering the 2023 World Snooker Championship at the Crucible in Sheffield
Three years later came his finest triumph, defeating Terry Griffiths in the 27th frame of that year’s UK Championship.
But Virgo would later remember it as both the ‘best’ and ‘worst’ day of his life, when speaking in 2017 to promote his autobiography.
He said: ‘They’d changed the time of the final without telling me and I was six miles away in my hotel.
‘I arrived, panicking, 25 minutes late, got penalised two frames and the crowd booed me. I was shaking so much I don’t know how I played.
‘And, to top it all, the BBC cameramen were out on strike. So, instead of winning live on Grandstand, there’s no footage of me lifting the trophy in glory.’
But he added: ‘OK, it could have been worse. Let’s say it was the best and worst day of my life.’
Virgo reached his all-time rankings high of 10 that season, adding the Bombay International and the Pontins Professional titles in 1980.
His best major tournament finish to follow was reaching the semi-finals of the British Open in 1986 but he dropped out of the elite top 16 in 1990-1991 and retired in 1994.
Virgo, seen at the 1983 World Snooker Championship, was open in recent years about how he increasingly struggled with gambling as his playing career declined in the 1980s
He was renowned for his dry sense of humour, on-screen quips and impersonations of players
By then he had already started appearing as referee and sidekick to Davidson on Big Break – having been recruited following his jocular appearances as exhibition shows.
But it was only later that he revealed the turmoil he had been suffering in the period just before Big Break came along.
Virgo recalled in 2017: ‘I was doing commentary for the BBC and had exhibition work but if you’re not winning you are not earning as much.
‘And when you’re seen as a successful sportsman, people assume you’re earning a good living.
‘There was pressure on me to have the newest car, a more expensive holiday. It was all about keeping up appearances.
‘When the results weren’t coming on the snooker table, I tried to supplement things by gambling on horses even more. I went through a period when I was addicted to gambling.
‘It was a compulsion that I struggled to get to grips with. By 1990, it was in danger of ruining my life.
‘I was borrowing against the mortgage just to keep up the pretence that I was successful.’
John Virgo, seen on ITV’s Good Morning Britain in October 2017, brought out that year his autobiography called Say Goodnight, JV – after a line Jim Davidson would use on Big Break
Big Break was a popular 1990s game show hosted by Jim Davidson and John Virgo on the BBC – and was said to be a favourite of Margaret and Denis Thatcher’s
That ultimately led to his three-bedroom Surrey home being repossessed.
He added: ‘Looking back, I see it was crazy. I think a lot of players may have had issues with gambling.
‘You are brought up in that environment – hustling in the snooker clubs to earn a few quid and, if there was no one to play, you’d go in the bookies.’
He also regretted time he felt was wasted ‘playing politics’ as chairman of the WPBSA world governing body, believing it cut his career short – before he was left unsure about to what to do post-snooker.
Virgo told: ‘Then I got a phone call asking me if I wanted to do a TV show with Jim Davidson.
‘The viewing figures were amazing and we peaked at almost 14million. People were gutted when it ended.’
Its success led to John’s own range of waistcoats, books, apps and pantomime appearances – while he remained a popular part of the BBC’s snooker commentary team, up to and including last month’s Masters at Alexandra Palace, north London.
But he described his most provident moment as finally getting a date with publishing executive Rosie Ries, having known her for two decades.
Big Break’s popularity saw John Virgo launch his own range of colourful waistcoats
He was a popular sight, joking with fans and fellow players, at exhibitions events – including the John Virgo Snooker Legends Tour Match, seen here at the Crucible, Sheffield, in April 2010
He played up to his jocular image but wrote in his autobiography about earlier struggles – including a £200,000 gambling addiction that lost him a Surrey home
Big Break presenters John Virgo (left) and Jim Davidson (right) also appeared in panto together – here seen holding up co-star Louise Landon, to promote Aladdin in December 2000
Virgo said: ‘A mate tried to set us up years ago but then his girlfriend said she wouldn’t be interested in me.
‘I was so frightened of a knockback, I didn’t ask her for out for 22 years. By then I’d lived on my own for five years and I needed that time to recentre myself.
‘But eventually we went on a date. I used my wit, charm and repartee on her and, blow me down, two months later we got engaged.’
The couple were married since 2009.
He had two children from his previous marriages, to Susan and Avril – son Gary and daughter Brook-Leah.
