BBC commentator saved from killing himself by wife Jill after he fled home with a knife
Tearful: Snooker champion Willie Thorne has gone bankrupt
Snooker legend Willie Thorne is declaring himself bankrupt after a £1million gambling addiction led to him trying to end his life.
Unable to see a way out of his financial turmoil the BBC presenter grabbed a knife, left his home and drove to a hotel where he penned three heart-breaking letters to his family.
But he tells how his devoted wife Jill tracked him down and burst into the room before he could go through with the suicide bid.
Speaking about the ordeal, he admitted: “If it wasn’t for Jill I would not be here now.
“She saved my life. Now I am going to try and put it back together.”
Willie wiped away tears with his fists as he spoke – a broken man at odds with the jovial person who grinned his way through Strictly Come Dancing and whose commentary is adored by millions of snooker fans. Just last month he was helping front coverage of the World Championship for the BBC.
But off screen, the 61-year-old has been living a lie. Now, in an exclusive interview Willie – who declares himself bankrupt next week – has decided to reveal the truth.
He tells how he:
Has lost millions to bookies since retiring from snooker
Was left owing cash to money-lenders – with one threatening to chop off his wife’s fingers
Had two thugs turn up at his house demanding £300,000 in cash
Cleared his house of all its contents – including his prized trophies – to keep them out of the clutches of bailiffs.
Sitting at home in Leicester, the pain of the last few months is clear to see.
The showman is still there, but the eyes are red and distant. And his voice is breathless, worn out by the speed his mind is racing at.
Gambling, and the debts which come with it, have left him broken.
“People think because I’m Willie Thorne, the guy off the TV, I must have loads of money. Nothing could be further from the truth. The house I live in is mortgaged to the hilt and the cars are on lease.
“Yes we should have a nice house in Spain. Yes I should be enjoying my retirement. But there is nothing left – and I’ve no one to blame but myself.”
Willie, who spent two decades on the professional snooker circuit, says his gambling hell can be traced to the moment he retired 15 years ago.
He said: “All of a sudden I wasn’t Willie Thorne the snooker player. I found that difficult.”
Bob Thomas Sports Photography
Eyes on the prize: Willie Thorne at the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible
Hours given to practice, which once made him one of the world’s best players, were replaced with time spent putting money on horses – a love he spoke of in his autobiography that had left him penniless in the past.
It led to him surrounding himself with professional gamblers and other unsavoury associates. And he was drawn in by money lenders who knew he could not resist borrowing big in the hope of a windfall at the race track.
Willie had the gambling under control until two years ago, suffering a relapse when he lost mum Nancy, 87, in July 2013.
He said: “Mum was my rock and everything to me. When she went, my head went. I thought, ‘What am I going to do?’ I wanted to get away from how I was feeling, to win enough to live happily ever after – I know it sounds daft. So where I was having a grand on a horse now and again, I would have a bit more.”
For Willie a “bit more” was sometimes £20,000 on a race. And he fell back in with the wrong people. He says: “I met this guy, a professional gambler. The person who introduced us said he’d won every month for four or five years and he can help you out.”
No way back: Snooker champion Willie Thorne has gone bankrupt
In the first few weeks using the gambler’s tips Willie was placing several thousands on the horses. And the gambler was able to use Willie as he could secure huge credit with betting firms.
Willie said: “I had a few wins but I had a few big losses too and before I knew it the amount I was in debt was stacking up and up.”
Stuck with massive debts Willie turned to friends, or acquaintances he barely knew, to ask for cash.
“I was borrowing off more and more people. Things just got out of hand. I was robbing Peter to pay Paul,” he says.
“I’d get my hands on some money and would then place a bet to try and win some money to reduce the debt. It’s a vicious circle. I kept saying to friends ‘I’ll sort it out, I’ll sort it out’. But I knew I couldn’t.”
Willie distanced himself from the professional gambler – only to hear he had scooped a £300,000 win. Meanwhile, Willie’s despair was getting deeper.
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Potter: Willie Thorne competing in the Masters in 1986
Eventually, with no money left to wager and no one left willing to lend to him, he tried to take his own life. After leaving home last June Willie drove to a nearby hotel where he made frantic calls to friends trying to borrow money.
When he was knocked back he signed off each call by saying “goodbye” and that he was “sorry for everything he’d done”.
And when word of the calls got back to Jill she called 999. They got to Willie just in time. He was found in a room with a knife and three letters to his family. He says: “I couldn’t see a way out. I thought I’d caused so much grief to so many people.
“I can’t remember a large part of that day. I was oblivious to what was happening. I’d gone. I was told by police afterwards I had a knife. My intention was to end my life. It was a shock to see Jill burst into the room. She saved my life.”
Willie explains: “I had lunatics chasing me and demanding money and I couldn’t see a way out.
“It’s so cowardly isn’t it. I have three children, two stepchildren, grandchildren, a nice house with a loving wife yet I couldn’t see a way through.”
Willie was taken to hospital but soon discharged himself. Next day he was centre stage at a public engagement and as ever the showman kicked in.
He says: “Everyone thinks I’m happy-go-lucky. But they don’t know I’m living a lie. Always smiling, always laughing – but inside feeling hopeless.
“Maybe after the suicide attempt I should have gone to rehab. Perhaps there was a sense of denial, I didn’t want to see the letters I’d written for instance. All I wanted was to sort out the mess.”
But he increasingly turned to money-lenders, some with criminal connections, to put things right. It led to terrifying threats being issued towards Willie and his family. He revealed: “Just before Christmas two men came to our house.
“My wife and I weren’t in but another member of the family was. They said they’d come to collect £300,000 and that they wanted the money repaid.”
Willie and Jill fled their home and contacted police. But the threats got even more severe.
“Threats were made to Jill,” Willie says. “I had a call saying unless I came up with the money they would chop her fingers off to get to the diamond rings. I had to protect my family.”
The ordeal left Jill equally terrified – she started to check every car that passed and every person who came near.
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Happier days: Willie Thorne competing in the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, April 1983
In the end the pair moved out, until they felt it was safe to return at the start of the year. But after moving back Willie got a warning bailiffs might come calling.
Jill cleared the house of everything, including Willie’s trophies. Family photos were stripped from the walls.
A dolls house used by the grandchildren went into storage. All that remained was the couple’s bed, a sofa and a wicker chair.
Willie took pictures of his bare house on his mobile and sent them to the people chasing him. But it was all putting off the inevitable – bankruptcy.
Over the past few weeks Willie admits he has been in total denial about the extent of his money woes. It was only when he recently sat down with his friend that he realised the extent of his turmoil.
He owes up to £1million that he borrowed to either settle gambling debts or to lay new bets. More than 30 people are owed money.
Setting out to rebuild his life from scratch, Willie has spoken to the BBC who have vowed to stand by him – giving him a vital lifeline.
Morose: Snooker champion Willie Thorne has gone bankrupt
He said: “The BBC have said what’s gone on is ‘off the table’. They say they enjoy what I do and that means an awful lot. Nobody knew about anything that was going on at home during the coverage of the World Championship.
I asked Dennis Taylor and John Virgo to borrow five grand. They both said things were ‘a bit tricky’. I think they probably knew it would be for gambling.”
Another person who Willie has turned to in the past is old pal Gary Lineker. The pair have been mates for more than 30 years and starred together in the Best Of Friends series.
Willie says: “I borrowed 10 grand years ago from Gary when I was in trouble. My mum rang him up and Gary helped.” But he resisted asking Gary for help this time.
He said: “Since Gary divorced from his first wife and I split from my ex wife Fiona, we have drifted apart a little. But Gary has helped me. He has been a support and a dear friend.”
Stroll: Snooker champion Willie Thorne with supportive wife Jill
The ordeal has had a devastating impact on Willie’s health. He suffered a stroke four years ago and believes the stress caused by his gambling addiction may have contributed.
He also suffers from depression and has to take medication to sleep at night. He said: “I’ve put on two stone. I eat when I’m depressed.”
Despite the turmoil Willie, who has not placed a bet in three months, is determined the future will be brighter. Since retiring from professional snooker, he has become a top after-dinner speaker.
He said: “I never want to see another betting slip in my life. The grief gambling has caused me is immeasurable.
"The last two years have destroyed me. I never went out with the intention of hurting anyone but there are people I may never be able to pay back and I’m truly sorry for that.
“Now I just want to try and put things right. I’m at rock bottom but I am desperately going to try and get back up.”
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