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Willie Thorne’s estranged wife has today described her grief following his death in Spain this week and said: ‘We still loved each other – It is so sad. But now he can rest in peace’.

Former Miss Great Britain Jill Saxby said they spoke every day before he passed away in Torrevieja hospital on the Costa Blanca in Spain on Wednesday.

The Leicester-born snooker star married Fiona Walker in 1985, and they have twin sons, Tristan and Kieran, and a daughter, Tahli. After his marriage broke down he began dating former Miss Great Britain Jill Saxby, and married in 2003, relocating to Spain, prior to parting in November 2019.

Away from snooker he had struggled with gambling addiction, revealing before he died how his wife had stopped him from killing himself after he racked up £1 million in gambling debts.

Ms Saxby, who survives him, along with his children and his brother Robert, said today: ‘We still loved each other. We texted or spoke to each other every day – particularly when he became poorly. Despite the turmoil we loved each other very much for 24 years. It is so sad. But now he can rest in peace’.

Former Miss Great Britain Jill Saxby said she spoke to her estranged husband ‘every day’ until he passed away in Torrevieja hospital on the Costa Blanca in Spain on Wednesday

In March, Thorne was diagnosed with leukaemia and had chemotherapy treatment at Torrevieja hospital and also had multiple blood transfusions, suffered from gout, and had a mystery infection, that saw him return to hospital by ambulance last week, and was placed in ICU.

Thorne, pictured playing snooker in 1976, reached two World Championship quarter-finals

He died from sepsis in the hospital on June 17, after doctors switched of the machine.

A Memorial service for Willie Thorne will be held at La Zenia new church in Orihuela Costa at 11.15am on Wednesday, June 24.

A GoFundMe page was set up by friend and carer Julie O’Niell and British golfer Mark Roe, that raised over €20,000 of which funds will help pay for Thorne’s Memorial service.

The popular personality died in a Spanish hospital yesterday morning after suffering ‘septic shock’ following respiratory failure.

His close friend Gary Lineker described him as ‘one of life’s great characters’ but said he had ‘potted his final black much too soon’.

Thorne, instantly recognisable from his bald head and neat moustache, was well known for his exploits away from the snooker table.

He was married to a former Miss Great Britain winner, featured in Chas and Dave’s 1986 hit song ‘Snooker Loopy’, and appeared on Strictly Come Dancing in 2007.

But he also struggled with gambling addiction, revealing how his wife had stopped him from killing himself after he racked up £1 million in gambling debts.

Former England football captain Lineker, who like Thorne is from Leicester, said: ‘Deeply, deeply saddened to hear that my friend Willie Thorne has passed away. One of life’s great characters.

‘A marvellous snooker player and a lovely man who’s potted his final black much too soon. RIP Willie.’

Lineker and Thorne were both from Leicester and played snooker together on many occasions

Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker is ‘deeply saddened’ to hear of his friend’s passing

BBC sports presenter Gabby Logan, who appeared on Strictly with the snooker player, wrote: ‘So sad to hear about the death of Willie Thorne. I loved watching his career, we made friends on Strictly Come Dancing where he was the loveliest “team mate”.’

The world of snooker was rocked by news of Thorne’s death.

Fellow player Ronnie O’Sullivan said: ‘Just want to say what a beautiful man – big heart, great company. Had a week in Ireland with him I’ll never forget. Will be missed by a lot of people in the Snooker world. RIP WT.’

Former rival Dennis Taylor also paid his respects, saying: ‘Devastating news about Willie Thorne. We laughed our way around the world for 45 years. RIP Great One. That was my name for him. The Great WT.’

Referring to Thorne’s nickname as a player, Jimmy White tweeted: ‘Rest in Peace Mr Maximum Man.’

World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn added: ‘I had the pleasure of managing the Great WT as part of the Matchroom team in the 1980s. He was a larger than life personality and he was a major part of the rebirth of snooker at that time.

Retired snooker champion Stephen Hendry described Thorne as ‘one of my favourite people in snooker’.

Thorne told in March how he was suffering from leukaemia. He was admitted to Torrevieja Hospital on the Costa Blanca in Spain with dangerously low blood pressure on Sunday.

Thorne appeared on the 2007 series of Strictly Come Dancing with partner Erin Boag

Having been placed in an induced coma, he died shortly before 2am Wednesday morning with members of his family at his bedside.

Announcing his death, his friend and carer Julie O’Neill said: ‘I was with him all the way to the end reading out messages from people.

‘He passed away very peacefully and without pain listening to his children saying they love him gives me some comfort in this difficult time.’

She added that she was grateful for those involved in his care and £17,000 raised to help him on a GoFundMe page would go towards paying for his funeral.

Thorne was married to former Miss Great Britain winner Jill Saxby for 24 years and the couple lived in Broughton Astley, Leicestershire, until they separated.

The retired sportsman, who had three children and two stepchildren, moved to Alicante in Spain last year hoping to rebuild his life after suffering from a long-standing gambling problem.

His addiction regularly saw him lose £20,000 betting on horse racing.

In 2015 he revealed how his wife had stopped him from killing himself over £1 million in gambling debts, which also saw his UK home repossessed after reports he could not pay the mortgage.

Thorne once spoke of how lenders had threatened to chop off his wife’s fingers and take her jewellery to pay off loans.

Speaking five years ago, he said: ‘I couldn’t see a way out. I’d caused so much grief to so many people.’

As a player he reached two World Championship quarter-finals and won the Mercantile Credit Classic in 1982.

After retiring from snooker in 2002 he went on to become a BBC commentator.

It was with great sadness that it was announced in June that Willie Thorne had passed away aged 66.

Thorne has been a ubiquitous presence in the world of snooker since the 1980s, when he made his breakthrough on the green baize. After picking up a number of ranking event titles, his deadpan delivery became a trademark of the BBC commentary team, and he was also a popular regular on the 90s gameshow Big Break.

As is so often the case, we don’t appreciate what we have got until they are gone, and the outpouring of emotion at the loss of one of snooker’s great characters has been palpable.

His BBC colleague, Dennis Taylor, wrote that he and Thorne had ‘laughed our way around the world for 45 years’, and Steve Davis commented on the ‘smiles you put on other people’s faces’.

Ronnie O’Sullivan remembered Thorne for his ‘big heart’ and for being ‘great company’. The folically-challenged personality transcended snooker, and his great friend Gary Lineker tweeted:

“One of life’s great characters. A marvellous snooker player and a lovely man, who’s potted his final black much too soon. RIP Willie.”

A fantastic character, Thorne will be missed in the world of snooker and sport, and so we thought it only fitting to take a look back at one of the green baize’s great entertainers.

The Early Years

Most snooker fans will remember Willie Thorne as being permanently bald of head and moustachioed, but presumably there was a point in his life when that wasn’t the case.

It’s unlikely he had much facial hair to speak of in 1968 when he first picked up his cue at the age of 14, and again when he was crowned national under-16 champion just two years later he as surely more bumfluff than anything else.

Thorne turned professional at the age of 21 in 1975, and many pundits inside the game expected him to rise to the top of the world rankings in quick time.

But the Leicester potter struggled to translate his amateur prowess onto the professional circuit, and it was some time before he got his hands on any meaningful silverware.

Success at Last

It wasn’t until 1985 that Thorne picked up his first significant piece of silverware.

That came in the Mercantile Credit Classic, and sparked a much better run of form which took Thorne to two World Championship quarter-finals and the final of the UK Championship, the second most prestigious event in snooker’s calendar.

Willie Thorne in Snooker’s Major Tournaments

In that final, he led the great Steve Davis 13-8, and was seemingly heading into a six-frame lead as he embarked on yet another break.

But a missed blue off the spot let Davis off the hook, and the rest is history – the ‘Nugget’ closing out a famous comeback victory. Thorne admitted that error haunted him for the rest of his career:

“I went back to my seat and the doubts kicked in straight away,” he said. “I was still 13-9 in front, but all I could think about was the way I’d failed in big games in the past.”

Even though the major title his talent deserved eluded him, Thorne reached as high as seven in the world rankings and became only the third player in history to make 100 career centuries.

His nickname was ‘Mr Maximum’, earned for his proficiency in making the maximum 147 break – a feat Thorne claimed to have achieved almost 200 times in matches and practice. One of those came in the UK Championship of 1987.

Willie Thorne Gambling Addiction

Oddly, one of the highlights of Thorne’s career came in the year 2000 at the age of 46. He won the World Senior Masters, defeating the former world champion Cliff Thorburn in the final.

Snooker Loopy

In the 1980s, snooker was one of the most watched sports in the UK, and that made a star out of a number of the best-loved players on the circuit.

That was the genesis behind Snooker Loopy’, the 1986 pop hit for the duo Chas and Dave. In the lyrics, the famous line ‘Old Willie Thorne, his hair’s all gorn’ was backed in the video by an appearance from Thorne himself, who replied ‘perhaps I ought to chalk it.’

Willie Thorne Gambling Addiction

Entering the charts at number six, an appearance on Top of the Pops followed for Thorn and his Matchroom buddies.

RIP Willie Thorne. pic.twitter.com/3hFcMhw0Fb

— Chas And Dave (@chas_dave) June 17, 2020

After his playing career ended, Thorne’s love affair with snooker continued, and he was a respected commentator and pundit for the best part of 30 years with BBC and Sky.

Sadly, Thorne was blighted with gambling problems throughout his life, and he accepted a place on Strictly Come Dancing in 2007 partly to pay off his debts. The former cueman was known to have a flutter on the horses and also snooker, once claiming to have lost £38,000 on a game in which he bet against John Parrott – the Scouser having lost his cue on the way to the venue.

Thorne, on commentary for the BBC at the time, was understandably upset.

“I’m having to close the commentary by saying it’s unbelievable, spewing up as I say it.”

In March 2020, the beloved Thorne announced he was suffering from Leukaemia, and sadly his condition worsened in the months that followed. He passed away on June 17 aged 66, leaving behind a lifetime of laughter and snooker brilliance.