John Virgo, the former snooker player and commentator who died in February aged 79, had a standard reply when asked about working with controversial comedian Jim Davidson. The pair co-hosted the BBC snooker gameshow Big Break for over a decade, despite their contrasting backgrounds.
Virgo, a northern socialist, was often quizzed about Davidson, a cockney Conservative-supporting comedian. He would say: 'He doesn't bother me, I worked with Higgins for 20 years!' referring to the notoriously difficult snooker player Alex Higgins.
Despite initial doubts, the chemistry worked. Virgo recalled: 'I'd met him once a few years previously, but I didn't really know him. It was funny because we got there and he didn't know much about snooker. After the first couple of shows, I was thinking, I don't see how this works.'
But the show became a hit, peaking at nearly 14 million viewers. Virgo praised Davidson's generosity, saying: 'Although Jim didn't know much about snooker, what a funny man and a very generous man to work with. We really got on well.'
