0:00:27 > 0:00:32Pot the reds, then screw back for the yellow, green, brown, blue,
0:00:32 > 0:00:34pink and black.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37- He's done it!- It sounds so simple,
0:00:37 > 0:00:40and the top players in full flow, sinking ball after ball,
0:00:40 > 0:00:43have always made snooker look deceptively easy.
0:00:43 > 0:00:45But, in truth, it's one of the most
0:00:45 > 0:00:47tantalising and testing games there is,
0:00:47 > 0:00:52demanding skill, strategic thinking and immense concentration.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56And, over the years, the masters of the game,
0:00:56 > 0:00:58with their different temperaments and styles of play,
0:00:58 > 0:01:01have frequently had millions of fans, like me,
0:01:01 > 0:01:04glued to our seats into the wee small hours.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10Here, we look at the personalities responsible for some of snooker's
0:01:10 > 0:01:11biggest breakthroughs.
0:01:11 > 0:01:13They set new standards of play,
0:01:13 > 0:01:15helped to win massive television audiences
0:01:15 > 0:01:19and made the game the worldwide phenomenon it is today.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22For those of you in black-and-white,
0:01:22 > 0:01:25it's the green over that bottom pocket that he's looking at.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29This is how snooker used to look and it could be argued that
0:01:29 > 0:01:31snooker's enduring popularity today is down to
0:01:31 > 0:01:35one man, Sir David Attenborough.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38AS DAVID ATTENBOROUGH: How on earth is that the case?
0:01:38 > 0:01:42Well, here's Stephen Fry with the answer.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45You may not remember, or know, that in the 1960s,
0:01:45 > 0:01:49Sir David was a senior manager, an executive at the BBC.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51And indeed, he served as the second
0:01:51 > 0:01:54controller of the channel and director of programming.
0:01:54 > 0:01:58And when BBC Two became the first channel under his aegis,
0:01:58 > 0:02:01in 1967, to broadcast in colour, not just the first BBC,
0:02:01 > 0:02:03but the first European channel,
0:02:03 > 0:02:07it was Sir David who is credited with taking advantage of this new
0:02:07 > 0:02:09technology, colour,
0:02:09 > 0:02:13by choosing snooker with its own bright colours as a showcase.
0:02:13 > 0:02:17So, on the 23rd of July 1969 on BBC television,
0:02:17 > 0:02:20Pot Black was first broadcast.
0:02:20 > 0:02:25Televised snooker was born and from there countless careers were forged.
0:02:30 > 0:02:32Yet another reason for the world to be grateful to
0:02:32 > 0:02:33Sir David Attenborough.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36But don't just take Stephen Fry's word for it.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39AS PARKINSON: Here is the winner of the very first Pot Black
0:02:39 > 0:02:41trophy, the great Ray Reardon,
0:02:41 > 0:02:43talking to Michael Parkinson on a similar theme.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48When it first started, it was black and white, mostly.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51And then colour television came in and people could see the colours and
0:02:51 > 0:02:53distinguish one ball from another.
0:02:54 > 0:02:58It attracted the elderly ladies, the young ladies, the elderly people.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01And they loved it because, I suppose...
0:03:01 > 0:03:03I remember once being in Australia
0:03:03 > 0:03:06and this isn't so long ago, not even ten years ago.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08When coming out from the store, and
0:03:08 > 0:03:11elderly lady's coming, so I sort of held the door open for her, you see.
0:03:11 > 0:03:13And she says, "Oh, thank you very much".
0:03:13 > 0:03:15And then she said, "I know you."
0:03:15 > 0:03:17She says. Oh, I said, you know, "Impossible.
0:03:17 > 0:03:19"This is the first time I've ever been to Australia".
0:03:19 > 0:03:22Oh, she said, "I've seen you on the box."
0:03:22 > 0:03:24She said, "What do you do?" I said, "I play snooker."
0:03:24 > 0:03:26She said, "Pot Black, that's who you are."
0:03:26 > 0:03:29Just like that! I know that's 11,000 miles away.
0:03:29 > 0:03:31I mean, I think that's terrific, isn't it?
0:03:31 > 0:03:33Well, what is, in fact, the
0:03:33 > 0:03:36- fascination of this game to you, though?- Ah, it's colourful.
0:03:38 > 0:03:39It's artistic.
0:03:39 > 0:03:41You can... Should, or try to make,
0:03:41 > 0:03:43the white ball do as you want it to do.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46Oh, it's ambiguous.
0:03:47 > 0:03:48How do you mean ambiguous?
0:03:48 > 0:03:50Well, one day you can do everything
0:03:50 > 0:03:52and another day you can do nothing.
0:03:52 > 0:03:54You know, it's as frustrating as it is fascinating.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58- Yes.- Ah, it just drives you round the wall sometimes.
0:04:01 > 0:04:05Welshman Reardon was the first player to dominate snooker in the
0:04:05 > 0:04:08age of colour. Alex Higgins was the game's thrilling genius,
0:04:08 > 0:04:11but Reardon brought a smiling consistency to the table,
0:04:11 > 0:04:15winning the World Championship six times in the 1970s.
0:04:16 > 0:04:18His nickname may have been Dracula,
0:04:18 > 0:04:20but he was one of the game's nice guys
0:04:20 > 0:04:25and had a touch of the old school entertainer about him, too.
0:04:25 > 0:04:27Did I ever tell you that story?
0:04:27 > 0:04:30- What story?- There's a story about a company director, actually,
0:04:30 > 0:04:33and he employed this new secretary, you see.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36Tell me the story as we walk over to the table because, you know,
0:04:36 > 0:04:37we've been sitting down. Go on.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40Well, they all were at work one night and
0:04:40 > 0:04:42the director said to the secretary, he said,
0:04:42 > 0:04:45"Look, I'll take you home". Hello. What was that?
0:04:45 > 0:04:47- That was very unfriendly. - "I'll take you home."
0:04:47 > 0:04:50He said, "Oh, it's late and I've been working hard all day".
0:04:50 > 0:04:51So they get to her flat and she said,
0:04:51 > 0:04:53"Would you like a cup of coffee?"
0:04:53 > 0:04:55Said, "Love one." So they go in and she said, "Look,
0:04:55 > 0:04:57"we've been working very hard today.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00"Would you like something to eat?" So they had something to eat,
0:05:00 > 0:05:01then he had some wine and liqueurs,
0:05:01 > 0:05:05and of course eventually he's taken her to bed and made love to her.
0:05:05 > 0:05:06And then he said to her, he said,
0:05:06 > 0:05:08"Look, it's two o'clock in the morning,
0:05:08 > 0:05:10"I must go home now to my wife."
0:05:10 > 0:05:11He says, "Have you got some whiskey?"
0:05:11 > 0:05:14And she said yes. So she... Dabs it all over his face and under his
0:05:14 > 0:05:17chin, you see. Then he says, "Have you got a block of billiard chalk?"
0:05:17 > 0:05:19- She said, "Yes."- Billiard chalk!
0:05:19 > 0:05:22Look, she's got a block of green billiard chalk, you see.
0:05:22 > 0:05:24So he goes all down his front with this billiard chalk.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27And he goes home to this very irate wife
0:05:27 > 0:05:30and he says, "Look, darling, you're not going to believe this".
0:05:30 > 0:05:32"But you know I've got a lovely secretary,
0:05:32 > 0:05:34"we worked late today and I've taken
0:05:34 > 0:05:36"her home and she's prepared me a meal,
0:05:36 > 0:05:37"we've had some wine, liqueurs.
0:05:37 > 0:05:39"I've gone to bed and I made love to her."
0:05:39 > 0:05:42She said, "You tell lies." She said, "You reek of whiskey, you're covered...
0:05:42 > 0:05:45"You've been down the club again."
0:05:45 > 0:05:47LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE
0:05:53 > 0:05:56Is there much gamesmanship goes on in this game of yours?
0:05:56 > 0:05:58It seems a sort of gentle game, you know.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00- Is there...?- I suppose psychologically there is, of course.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04But on the table, they play in a very gentlemanly fashion, actually.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06- Yes.- I mean, if someone was to foul
0:06:06 > 0:06:09the ball with their finger or piece of their apparel,
0:06:09 > 0:06:12they would get up even if the referee hadn't said anything.
0:06:12 > 0:06:13Say sorry. It's so personal to
0:06:13 > 0:06:16interfere with the balls itself, actually.
0:06:16 > 0:06:20Yes. But, I mean, whatever cheating if you like goes on,
0:06:20 > 0:06:22- goes on in the mind?- Yes, yes. - Between players.- Yeah, right.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25But you could get a situation like this that, if you didn't have a
0:06:25 > 0:06:27referee and he wasn't actually on the ball.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30Then he's saying, well... As you can see, I can't pot the leading red
0:06:30 > 0:06:32because I'm behind the front red.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35So what you do, you just get down nice and steady, and...
0:06:35 > 0:06:37And pot the red, of course, you know.
0:06:37 > 0:06:39I see.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41I think I see. But how was that cheating?
0:06:41 > 0:06:44Well, because... I'll play that in a sort of a slow motion.
0:06:46 > 0:06:50Right. What really happened was that I struck the white ball...
0:06:51 > 0:06:54..and then went like that.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58Sorry about that!
0:07:00 > 0:07:03Now, of all... Ray, of all these tricks that you do...
0:07:03 > 0:07:04Well, they're not tricks, actually,
0:07:04 > 0:07:07they're shots that you do in the exhibitions.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09..which is the most difficult one to do?
0:07:09 > 0:07:11That would be the machine gun shot, actually.
0:07:11 > 0:07:13- What's that?- Well, I was afraid that you were going to ask me that.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15That involves the use of all the colours.
0:07:15 > 0:07:19- Just the coloured balls. - Coloured balls. Fine.- Now then,
0:07:19 > 0:07:21this is a... This is not a trick shot at all, actually.
0:07:21 > 0:07:23- No.- This is just a purely...
0:07:25 > 0:07:28..a touch shot, quick eyesight, quick reflexes.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33As you can see, I've spread the colours out,
0:07:33 > 0:07:35leaving a gap in-between each one...
0:07:37 > 0:07:40..in order that one can pass one another to go to the far pocket.
0:07:41 > 0:07:42And what we're going to do,
0:07:42 > 0:07:45we're going to hopefully strike the white first.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48The white to go into the pocket last.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50So we strike the white, pocket the coloured balls
0:07:50 > 0:07:52and the white goes in the pocket last.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56Well, that's what should happen, as we said.
0:08:12 > 0:08:13Oh, dear.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19That's the first time he's done it right today!
0:08:24 > 0:08:26The '70s and '80s saw Ray Reardon
0:08:26 > 0:08:28and the rest of snooker's elite become
0:08:28 > 0:08:32as familiar to TV audiences as the cast of a hit sitcom,
0:08:32 > 0:08:36with their unfashionable waistcoats and carefully fashioned nicknames.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40As well as Dracula, there was The Hurricane...
0:08:40 > 0:08:42Tony "The Cat" Meo...
0:08:42 > 0:08:44Jimmy "Whirlwind" White and
0:08:44 > 0:08:46"Big" Bill Werbeniuk,
0:08:46 > 0:08:50who seemed to down a pint with almost every frame he played.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55And then there was the unlikely superstar with more nicknames than
0:08:55 > 0:08:56all of them put together.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58Steve Davis was variously known as The Nugget,
0:08:58 > 0:09:03Romford Slim, the Plumstead Potting Machine and the Ginger Wizard,
0:09:03 > 0:09:06but the name that really struck home with the public was...
0:09:06 > 0:09:11Interesting. It was coined by those wags at ITV's satirical show,
0:09:11 > 0:09:16Spitting Image, although Steve Davis sometimes only had himself to blame
0:09:16 > 0:09:19for his somewhat nerdy image.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22Well, George, how do you set up a computer to judge the comparative
0:09:22 > 0:09:26difficulties of pots on a snooker table?
0:09:26 > 0:09:27But what "Interesting" Steve and his
0:09:27 > 0:09:29maverick manager Barry Hearn were doing
0:09:29 > 0:09:32to the game was genuinely interesting,
0:09:32 > 0:09:36helping to turn it into a serious money-making industry.
0:09:36 > 0:09:38We join them here in 1981,
0:09:38 > 0:09:41the year Davis first put a stranglehold on the game,
0:09:41 > 0:09:45winning both the World and UK Snooker Championships.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51What has it done to you, do you think?
0:09:51 > 0:09:52- What's it done to me?- Fame.
0:09:54 > 0:09:55Lots of pennies.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01Were you aware that all this would happen?
0:10:02 > 0:10:07The, the razzmatazz and the...
0:10:07 > 0:10:09The offers and that all coming in?
0:10:09 > 0:10:10- Yeah.- Really?
0:10:10 > 0:10:11Hmm.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14I've got a good manager.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16Is that what you were aiming at -
0:10:16 > 0:10:17making a lot of money?
0:10:17 > 0:10:20No. I was aiming to become the best snooker player in the world.
0:10:21 > 0:10:26My job was to win on the table because that's enough of a job,
0:10:26 > 0:10:27as far as I'm concerned,
0:10:27 > 0:10:30and that's a full-time occupation, is playing snooker.
0:10:30 > 0:10:32PHONE RINGS
0:10:32 > 0:10:33The good manager.
0:10:33 > 0:10:34Hello, Barry Hearn.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37Also known in the business as Barry Earn.
0:10:37 > 0:10:39Yes, well, if you're talking about...
0:10:39 > 0:10:41No, if you're talking about an afternoon and evening,
0:10:41 > 0:10:46see I do, if we were in your area, we'd do 1,250 for the night-time.
0:10:46 > 0:10:50But an afternoon session would be an extra 500, so that's 1,750 plus VAT,
0:10:50 > 0:10:52plus any expenses that Steve incurs.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59We don't do anything cheap for Steve Davis.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01The first year, we set their income level.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05So, I can't even remember the figure.
0:11:05 > 0:11:07I think it was £20,000 - we went well past it.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10The second year, we said, "We should do 50" -
0:11:10 > 0:11:13and we went well past it. This year, we've set a quarter of a million
0:11:13 > 0:11:15and hopefully we'll go well past it.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17Snooker's first millionaire in the
0:11:17 > 0:11:20making learned the tricks of his trade here in Romford
0:11:20 > 0:11:22at one of Barry Hearn's halls.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26The game has always been popular,
0:11:26 > 0:11:29but when television coverage turned top players into superstars,
0:11:29 > 0:11:31lads all over the country started
0:11:31 > 0:11:34dreaming of being the next Steve Davis.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36They, too, seek fame and fortune,
0:11:36 > 0:11:39although he insists that money isn't really the spur.
0:11:39 > 0:11:44Obviously, once you attain a certain level of money,
0:11:44 > 0:11:46or you're earning a certain level of money,
0:11:46 > 0:11:48if that was to drop down by any sort
0:11:48 > 0:11:51of appreciable amount, you'd miss it.
0:11:52 > 0:11:57But, um... I don't wake up in the morning and think, "Ha-ha!"
0:11:57 > 0:11:59Like, I can go out and buy something if I want to.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01I might wake up in the morning and think, "Yeah,
0:12:01 > 0:12:03"I'm world champion today".
0:12:03 > 0:12:07But not actually... Not actually think of the money.
0:12:07 > 0:12:12It's nice to have it, but it's much nicer to be
0:12:12 > 0:12:16the world champion at something that you fell in love with at 14,
0:12:16 > 0:12:20and all of a sudden, nine years later,
0:12:20 > 0:12:24you've won the biggest competition in the world at snooker.
0:12:24 > 0:12:25That's more important to me.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30- Yeah.- I just happened to pop upstairs to the club in Romford
0:12:30 > 0:12:35and there was this tall, skinny kid playing snooker.
0:12:35 > 0:12:37Great long locks of hair.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40I wouldn't say his backside was coming out of his trousers,
0:12:40 > 0:12:42but it was close. And he just...
0:12:42 > 0:12:46I don't know, you find this with champions, they just seem different.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49They exude a charisma of...
0:12:49 > 0:12:51unbelievable control.
0:12:51 > 0:12:52I mean, he just looked so dedicated.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02Steve Davis goes three points ahead.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07The curtain is now beginning to fall on the
0:13:07 > 0:13:09Coral UK Championship 1980.
0:13:10 > 0:13:14As the 23-year-old Londoner from Plumstead,
0:13:14 > 0:13:20Steve Davis, making his debut in a big-time championship.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24The first time he's appeared in a final
0:13:24 > 0:13:28is about to don the crown of UK champion.
0:13:28 > 0:13:32I'm sure, as the years go by, you will see him, as I hope to...
0:13:34 > 0:13:36..wear the world crown.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41November last year and the beginning of a bonanza.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44Steve now holds seven major professional titles.
0:13:44 > 0:13:47Nobody frightens him because, in the early days,
0:13:47 > 0:13:51all the champions have been lured to his table by the astute Barry Hearn.
0:13:51 > 0:13:52It was nice because he turned
0:13:52 > 0:13:54Romford into what was then called the
0:13:54 > 0:13:56graveyard of the professionals
0:13:56 > 0:13:59because he went 13 games without being beaten.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02And, of course, it was not only a costly experience for some of these
0:14:02 > 0:14:05players, but also, from a prestige point of view,
0:14:05 > 0:14:07as far as the media was concerned,
0:14:07 > 0:14:11there was this young kid coming along and beating six-times champion
0:14:11 > 0:14:14Ray Reardon...or annihilated Terry Griffiths.
0:14:14 > 0:14:17You know, these are the sort of things we wanted
0:14:17 > 0:14:19because, unless the press report
0:14:19 > 0:14:22accurately and often enough on a player,
0:14:22 > 0:14:25you just don't get the invitations into major tournaments.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27So really, in those early days, it was a question of experience,
0:14:27 > 0:14:33trying to put him through arduous travelling, big money matches,
0:14:33 > 0:14:35knowing that there was thousands of
0:14:35 > 0:14:38pounds of working class people's money on it.
0:14:38 > 0:14:39And it's a...
0:14:39 > 0:14:41A type of pressure you can't begin
0:14:41 > 0:14:43to explain when someone walks up to you
0:14:43 > 0:14:47and says, "Best of luck, Steve. I've put my last £10 on you."
0:14:47 > 0:14:49And, you know, it really is his last £10.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51I mean, that's an added dimension of pressure.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53But he came through it all very well and,
0:14:53 > 0:14:54of course, he learned as he went.
0:14:54 > 0:14:58You get this terrible quote in snooker about a misspent youth
0:14:58 > 0:15:00and the only person that's never
0:15:00 > 0:15:02said it to me is Steve's bank manager.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05He loves it, he thinks it's the best spent youth you could ever have.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08Take this off. Oh, yes, that's nice.
0:15:08 > 0:15:10Listen, I'm a little bit worried about the gloves.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13Barry Hearn controlled everything off the table
0:15:13 > 0:15:16and was determined to turn the Nugget into a gold mine.
0:15:16 > 0:15:18Do you want to take off the gloves?
0:15:18 > 0:15:19The gloves get the Big E.
0:15:19 > 0:15:24All pictures must reflect the clean cut image of Barry Hearn's boy,
0:15:24 > 0:15:27who gets £25,000 a year to appear in the Star newspaper.
0:15:27 > 0:15:29That's lovely.
0:15:29 > 0:15:31Is this outfit all right?
0:15:31 > 0:15:33- Yeah...- We've lost the gloves, we're all right.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36The only thing I'm worried about is, you know, is the side
0:15:36 > 0:15:38because I think a lot of Steve's...
0:15:38 > 0:15:40The 15 and 16-year-old fans will, you know,
0:15:40 > 0:15:43they will be getting very jealous.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46The good manager always tries to please the fans,
0:15:46 > 0:15:47so does the Daily Star.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52It's strange what is a turn on to women, isn't it?
0:15:52 > 0:15:55Because we carried, the morning after he won the
0:15:55 > 0:15:59World Championship, a pin-up picture, which he laughed about
0:15:59 > 0:16:02because he makes fun of his own physique,
0:16:02 > 0:16:04because he's a very slender lad,
0:16:04 > 0:16:05but we had him bare-chested.
0:16:05 > 0:16:07We had him topless on page one
0:16:07 > 0:16:09and awarded him a Gold Star -
0:16:09 > 0:16:12we have some certain Gold Star awards for people who make major
0:16:12 > 0:16:17achievements - and the response to that picture was unbelievable.
0:16:17 > 0:16:22And the response was all from young girls and young women
0:16:22 > 0:16:24because they thought it was very appealing.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27You've got a reputation of being really cool, haven't you?
0:16:27 > 0:16:30You look... Some people misinterpret it as cocky.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32Yeah, they do. Well, that's...
0:16:32 > 0:16:35That's something I'm not particularly bothered about
0:16:35 > 0:16:39as far as if people want to think that, they can think about.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41Um...
0:16:41 > 0:16:46You can only play the game the way you can handle the pressure.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50The way I handle the pressure is by playing it as cool as I can.
0:16:52 > 0:16:56Steve's schedule now is so hectic as to be suicidal.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58Absolutely suicidal.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02I appreciate this is a potential problem for normal players.
0:17:03 > 0:17:05It's not a problem for Steve Davis...
0:17:07 > 0:17:09..because he's not normal.
0:17:09 > 0:17:10HE PLAYS THE HARMONICA
0:17:19 > 0:17:21He gets tired, the same as most humans,
0:17:21 > 0:17:23but you've got to look at him as a night worker.
0:17:23 > 0:17:25When you or I are in bed, he's driving home from somewhere.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28And when you and I perhaps get up in the morning, you know,
0:17:28 > 0:17:30Steve's not up till midday.
0:17:30 > 0:17:32You know, lots of people have said to me, "Don't work him too hard,
0:17:32 > 0:17:35"two days a week's enough". To me, that's a load of rubbish.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38Absolute rubbish. You're there to do a job, you're there to play snooker.
0:17:41 > 0:17:42A year later, Davis showed he was
0:17:42 > 0:17:45definitely the man for the job when he made history
0:17:45 > 0:17:49by completing the first maximum break in an official competition,
0:17:49 > 0:17:52which also just happened to be the first 147
0:17:52 > 0:17:54to be captured by TV cameras.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58You can imagine the tension that's building up
0:17:58 > 0:18:00in young Steve at the moment.
0:18:00 > 0:18:02125.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04Well, Steve is looking very, very calm.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09Normally this would be elementary, but, under these circumstances,
0:18:09 > 0:18:10every pot is so difficult.
0:18:13 > 0:18:14Come on. Come on round.
0:18:16 > 0:18:18129!
0:18:18 > 0:18:19That a bit further.
0:18:21 > 0:18:25Well, if anybody can knock these three balls, then this man can.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31Now, we're going to have to see a super shot here.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36Well, come on, Steve.
0:18:36 > 0:18:37Pull...
0:18:37 > 0:18:40Pull a fabulous shot out, I'm sure you can do it.
0:18:42 > 0:18:47Come on, get in. Fabulous shot!
0:18:48 > 0:18:52Fabulous shot! And this is the first
0:18:52 > 0:18:54147 break on television.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00- 140!- Well, I'm shaking.
0:19:00 > 0:19:01And I'll bet...
0:19:01 > 0:19:03- Quiet, please!- I'll bet Steve at
0:19:03 > 0:19:05this moment can see the pocket closing up
0:19:05 > 0:19:08- and closing up and getting smaller. - Come on, Steve.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13Beautiful 147!
0:19:18 > 0:19:22A year later came another 147 milestone -
0:19:22 > 0:19:26this time pulled off by Canada's Cliff "The Grinder" Thorburn.
0:19:27 > 0:19:32In 1980, Cliff Thorburn had become the first player from outside the UK
0:19:32 > 0:19:34to win the World Championship.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37His defensive tactics frustrating
0:19:37 > 0:19:40the quixotic brilliance of Alex Higgins.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42And then, three years later,
0:19:42 > 0:19:45Thorburn notched up the first ever maximum break in the
0:19:45 > 0:19:50World Championship. His careful, measured approach helping to see him
0:19:50 > 0:19:52through the almost unbearable tension.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54Have a little break here.
0:19:54 > 0:19:55A difficult...
0:19:57 > 0:19:58Well, what a...
0:19:59 > 0:20:00What a sensible fellow.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05At a stage like this, with just one red left,
0:20:05 > 0:20:10he stops and blows his nose and says, "Let's have a break".
0:20:10 > 0:20:14And if he can take this red and the black,
0:20:14 > 0:20:16the colours will be on their spots.
0:20:18 > 0:20:20Oh, what a moment this is.
0:20:20 > 0:20:22It is truly electric here.
0:20:25 > 0:20:26If only we could tell the audience
0:20:26 > 0:20:29not to applaud just for the remainder of this break.
0:20:44 > 0:20:49Oh, wonderful! That is really, truly wonderful!
0:20:53 > 0:20:54He's being hugged.
0:20:57 > 0:20:58Just look at the pictures.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06Well, well, well.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11Thorburn went on to reach the final in 1983,
0:21:11 > 0:21:14but was thrashed by Steve Davis.
0:21:14 > 0:21:19In 1984, Davis won the title again, beating Jimmy White.
0:21:19 > 0:21:21Then, in 1985,
0:21:21 > 0:21:24he reached yet another final and was looking to make it three in a row,
0:21:24 > 0:21:27the clear favourite against Northern Ireland's Dennis Taylor.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31It looked like being another, perhaps,
0:21:31 > 0:21:33less than interesting victory.
0:21:33 > 0:21:37Instead, the underdog in the upside-down glasses overturned
0:21:37 > 0:21:39all expectations.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42It all came down to the 35th and final frame,
0:21:42 > 0:21:44and the final black ball,
0:21:44 > 0:21:47which seemed remarkably resistant to being potted.
0:21:47 > 0:21:49Even though they tried...
0:21:51 > 0:21:53Oh!
0:22:03 > 0:22:05..and tried...
0:22:20 > 0:22:21..and tried...
0:22:30 > 0:22:31..and tried...
0:22:35 > 0:22:37..and tried.
0:22:38 > 0:22:39No.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44This is really unbelievable.
0:22:45 > 0:22:47He's done it!
0:22:51 > 0:22:53It was probably snooker's greatest night
0:22:53 > 0:22:56and it turned Dennis Taylor into a national hero.
0:22:58 > 0:22:59The World Snooker Champion
0:22:59 > 0:23:02Dennis Taylor has returned to his hometown for
0:23:02 > 0:23:05the first time since his victory over Steve Davis.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07The townspeople of Coalisland in
0:23:07 > 0:23:09County Tyrone turned out in their thousands to
0:23:09 > 0:23:10welcome their most famous son.
0:23:10 > 0:23:12Neil Bennett reporting.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15There wasn't a place to be had in the tiny town square
0:23:15 > 0:23:18as Coalisland welcomed home it's conquering hero
0:23:18 > 0:23:21and his reception was fantastic.
0:23:21 > 0:23:22With calm restored,
0:23:22 > 0:23:24the celebrations began and
0:23:24 > 0:23:27Dennis Taylor was made mayor for the day.
0:23:27 > 0:23:29When finally he could make himself heard,
0:23:29 > 0:23:33he spoke to the town which he has put on the map.
0:23:33 > 0:23:35I'm not usually lost for words,
0:23:35 > 0:23:39but it's a little bit difficult to find words to describe...
0:23:39 > 0:23:41I mean, I was brought up here and
0:23:41 > 0:23:43was here until I was 17,
0:23:43 > 0:23:46and spent many happy hours round the town here.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49In fact, I think I might even have pinched a packet of sweets
0:23:49 > 0:23:50out of McGlinchey's there.
0:23:52 > 0:23:54They'd have given him the entire
0:23:54 > 0:23:56contents today and a lot more besides
0:23:56 > 0:23:59after a day and a week in which the town of Coalisland
0:23:59 > 0:24:01will never forget.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04Now, when you returned to Coalisland, to County Tyrone,
0:24:04 > 0:24:07it must've been an enormous, very emotional reception.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09Well, it was... It was just like a dream
0:24:09 > 0:24:11because I was only in there for two and a half hours.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14And the first trip back was to Belfast,
0:24:14 > 0:24:16where I was playing the Shankill Leisure Centre,
0:24:16 > 0:24:18which was a terrific reception,
0:24:18 > 0:24:20and then to go to the actual hometown.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23How they organise that in a couple of days I'll never believe it.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26The population of Coalisland swelled about 20 times.
0:24:26 > 0:24:28That's right. Well, there's about seven or 8,000,
0:24:28 > 0:24:29and I think there must have been
0:24:29 > 0:24:3125-30,000 people in the town.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34I was lucky enough to talk to Barry McGuigan some time ago,
0:24:34 > 0:24:36and he's a man who manages to
0:24:36 > 0:24:38transcend the religious and political
0:24:38 > 0:24:41boundaries in Northern Ireland, and you're another one.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44- You can...- I think that's probably why there were so many people in
0:24:44 > 0:24:48Coalisland because Coalisland's 99% Catholic
0:24:48 > 0:24:52and the Shankill, where I played, is predominantly Protestant.
0:24:52 > 0:24:54And, over the last ten years,
0:24:54 > 0:24:56I've had some of the top players over there,
0:24:56 > 0:24:59and we get a fantastic reception no matter where we go to.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02And to win the World Championship and get that reception was amazing.
0:25:02 > 0:25:04It's funny, sport seems to get over
0:25:04 > 0:25:07- all the barriers in Northern Ireland, doesn't it?- Yeah.
0:25:07 > 0:25:08Well, it gives you a personal,
0:25:08 > 0:25:11a nice feeling inside, to see everybody together there.
0:25:11 > 0:25:13- If only...- I think that the biggest one was that...
0:25:13 > 0:25:15I don't know whether they showed it on the television,
0:25:15 > 0:25:18but the Reverend from the Church of Ireland,
0:25:18 > 0:25:20I thought he was going to fall off the platform.
0:25:20 > 0:25:23He was over... He said I was the most famous person in the world!
0:25:23 > 0:25:26That was going over the top, wasn't it?
0:25:27 > 0:25:30What about Steve Davis? Has he spoken to you since?
0:25:30 > 0:25:32Yeah, Steve's back to his old self again.
0:25:32 > 0:25:33He's quite a nice fellow.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36- A lot of people get the wrong impression of Steve Davis.- Yeah.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39And he gets a little bit uptight on the snooker table,
0:25:39 > 0:25:40but, yeah, he's a...
0:25:40 > 0:25:42He's a family lad, he's got a good family, nice lad.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45I think it was slightly unfair that he took a lot of stick for his
0:25:45 > 0:25:47reaction on the big night,
0:25:47 > 0:25:49but, I mean, he must've been drained of all emotion.
0:25:49 > 0:25:51Well, he was. As I say,
0:25:51 > 0:25:53he's that type of character that he lives for snooker,
0:25:53 > 0:25:55as he'll tell you himself. I mean, I'm a little bit lucky.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58I've got the three children and the wife to go back to,
0:25:58 > 0:26:01and it makes you forget about the snooker when you lose.
0:26:01 > 0:26:05So... He loves the game of snooker and lives for it.
0:26:05 > 0:26:06The family don't take any nonsense
0:26:06 > 0:26:09from you just because you're the world snooker champion.
0:26:09 > 0:26:10I can forget about that.
0:26:10 > 0:26:12If I start getting on cloud nine, they'll sort me out.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15So attitudes haven't changed at home, have they not?
0:26:15 > 0:26:16Not yet, no.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20- I don't think they ever will. - You don't think they're going to?
0:26:20 > 0:26:22I was just thinking that you won the Snooker Championship,
0:26:22 > 0:26:25but most of the contracts you will have signed prior to winning will
0:26:25 > 0:26:28have been for a certain fee. And now you're the world champion,
0:26:28 > 0:26:30you'll probably go to work for the next six months
0:26:30 > 0:26:33- for less than you should be. - That's right.
0:26:33 > 0:26:34What, is it £20 we get for tonight?
0:26:34 > 0:26:36Is it?
0:26:36 > 0:26:37LAUGHTER
0:26:37 > 0:26:39TERRY LAUGHS
0:26:39 > 0:26:44I have a very special award to make to you now and I am...
0:26:44 > 0:26:45Why are you crawling on the floor?
0:26:45 > 0:26:47LAUGHTER
0:26:57 > 0:26:58I mean,
0:26:58 > 0:27:03I'm not used to women crawling up to me like that, are you?
0:27:03 > 0:27:05Actually, it's a right pain in the...
0:27:05 > 0:27:07To be giving you this, to be honest,
0:27:07 > 0:27:09because it's for the highest ever
0:27:09 > 0:27:12British television audience at midnight.
0:27:12 > 0:27:13Is that right?
0:27:13 > 0:27:15How many viewers did we get?
0:27:15 > 0:27:17- Was it...?- Only 18.5 million.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22Well, I'm only allowed to appear on programmes that get more than
0:27:22 > 0:27:2518 million viewers. How many do you get, Terry?
0:27:25 > 0:27:27Do you mean if you add the month together?
0:27:29 > 0:27:33Add all. We don't do badly, but 18.5 is something else.
0:27:33 > 0:27:36And, in fact, you beat Coronation Street at midnight, Dennis.
0:27:36 > 0:27:40- Amazing.- And I think that that pastor was right when he said,
0:27:40 > 0:27:44because when you did win it, you certainly, you were the most...
0:27:44 > 0:27:46Certainly the most popular man in Britain.
0:27:46 > 0:27:48Congratulations and well done.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51- Thank you very much. - That's a simple gift from the BBC.
0:27:51 > 0:27:52APPLAUSE
0:27:56 > 0:27:58MUSIC: Snooker Loopy by Chas & Dave
0:28:00 > 0:28:03If snooker had been soaring in popularity before,
0:28:03 > 0:28:07now the whole country seemed to have gone snooker loopy.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10Barry Hearn was managing not just Steve Davis,
0:28:10 > 0:28:12but many of the other top players
0:28:12 > 0:28:14under the banner of the Match Room Mob,
0:28:14 > 0:28:18which was great for them but less good for music lovers.
0:28:18 > 0:28:20Although Steve Davis did claim he
0:28:20 > 0:28:22had some musical ambitions of his own.
0:28:24 > 0:28:26I would like to be... I would have liked to have been a DJ, actually.
0:28:26 > 0:28:29I was chatting to somebody, trying to get on Round Table.
0:28:29 > 0:28:31But, um... I'm not too sure,
0:28:31 > 0:28:34I think really what I would have done would be to work just to play
0:28:34 > 0:28:37snooker and sort of lived out of my own hobby.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40But, um... I wouldn't have minded to be a musician,
0:28:40 > 0:28:41or perhaps a psychiatrist.
0:28:41 > 0:28:42LAUGHTER
0:28:44 > 0:28:46# Snooker loopy nuts are we
0:28:48 > 0:28:50# We're all snooker loopy. #
0:28:53 > 0:28:55But Barry Hearn and the Match Room
0:28:55 > 0:28:58didn't have a total monopoly on talent.
0:28:58 > 0:29:00Some 400 miles north,
0:29:00 > 0:29:03the player who would eventually match Steve Davis's dominance
0:29:03 > 0:29:07of the game was already starting to generate a lot of attention.
0:29:07 > 0:29:11And as this fly on the wall documentary from 1988 demonstrates,
0:29:11 > 0:29:13Stephen Hendry also had a manager
0:29:13 > 0:29:16who could rival Hearn when it came to steering a career.
0:29:20 > 0:29:23Coming to the table is the little giant of snooker...
0:29:24 > 0:29:26..looking even younger than his 14 years.
0:29:28 > 0:29:30Still going to school, he...
0:29:30 > 0:29:34I was very nervous before I went on, but it made me play better.
0:29:34 > 0:29:36Um, I got on the table and I was potting balls
0:29:36 > 0:29:39because I was concentrating so much on trying to play well
0:29:39 > 0:29:41and trying to make a good impression.
0:29:43 > 0:29:46Now this is absolutely amazing, Ted, there. I mean, for somebody...
0:29:46 > 0:29:50Going back to the very first night and seeing Stephen,
0:29:50 > 0:29:53I knew that I'd seen something very, very special.
0:29:53 > 0:29:56I mean, obviously I'd watched White, Davis, Higgins,
0:29:56 > 0:29:59but Stephen was something very, very special.
0:29:59 > 0:30:00Absolutely magic.
0:30:02 > 0:30:03And another beauty.
0:30:04 > 0:30:07For me, it was like probably, if you're into ballet,
0:30:07 > 0:30:10going to ballet and watching Nureyev.
0:30:10 > 0:30:14He was just absolutely magnificent round the table.
0:30:14 > 0:30:16I don't think...
0:30:16 > 0:30:21even today, the thrill you get just watching him in a match.
0:30:21 > 0:30:24The highs when you win,
0:30:24 > 0:30:27the lows when you lose, it's something special.
0:30:30 > 0:30:3155.
0:30:33 > 0:30:37I think, to be involved with somebody with the talent
0:30:37 > 0:30:41that he had, subject to them going down the right roads,
0:30:41 > 0:30:46being directed down the right roads, success was...
0:30:46 > 0:30:49It was there. I mean, there was no ifs, buts or maybes.
0:30:49 > 0:30:51He just had to succeed.
0:30:51 > 0:30:54A magnificent display of potting
0:30:54 > 0:30:59by Stephen Hendry to pick up the Scottish title and the trophy.
0:31:09 > 0:31:12Well, a magnificent performance, then,
0:31:12 > 0:31:16by 17-year-old Stephen Hendry, hugged there by his father.
0:31:17 > 0:31:22And he overcomes Matt Gibson of Glasgow at ten frames to five.
0:31:33 > 0:31:38He has a natural temperament, which is his greatest asset.
0:31:38 > 0:31:40His temperament is absolutely perfect.
0:31:40 > 0:31:43Naturally, as a young man, he's got a very, very keen eye.
0:31:43 > 0:31:48He pots everything in sight at the moment.
0:31:48 > 0:31:51I think maturity will alter his game slightly.
0:31:53 > 0:31:57He will learn to be more cautious on certain occasions,
0:31:57 > 0:31:58which will win him more matches.
0:32:00 > 0:32:03But there's just a natural ability.
0:32:03 > 0:32:06It's just some charisma that young Stephen has.
0:32:09 > 0:32:11I was...
0:32:11 > 0:32:14very pleased to be on the end of the microphone when he won the Scottish
0:32:14 > 0:32:16professional title a couple of years ago.
0:32:17 > 0:32:20I hope I'm on the microphone when he becomes world champion,
0:32:20 > 0:32:22but it's my guess he'll be a
0:32:22 > 0:32:24millionaire before he becomes world champion.
0:32:25 > 0:32:26In terms of total earnings,
0:32:26 > 0:32:28it's very difficult to say just
0:32:28 > 0:32:30exactly what the final figure would be.
0:32:30 > 0:32:33But I think, during the course of this year,
0:32:33 > 0:32:37particularly with his progress in the rankings and his tournament
0:32:37 > 0:32:42winnings, I think we've probably got to look at a figure of somewhere
0:32:42 > 0:32:43around 600,000.
0:32:43 > 0:32:47Ian knows that he can trust me playing at snooker and I know that I
0:32:47 > 0:32:50can trust him doing the business.
0:32:50 > 0:32:52Obviously, I have ups and downs all the time,
0:32:52 > 0:32:54we have our little arguments about things,
0:32:54 > 0:32:59but more or less, in the end, we always come out friends.
0:32:59 > 0:33:03The cameras then went on to capture one of those little arguments after
0:33:03 > 0:33:07Hendry lost a match to the 1986 world champion Joe Johnson.
0:33:09 > 0:33:12And I mean, I couldn't believe that last frame, that yellow.
0:33:12 > 0:33:13I mean, what possessed you?
0:33:13 > 0:33:15I couldn't believe it, you did my brains.
0:33:21 > 0:33:25But you can improve your cue ball control, you can improve everything
0:33:25 > 0:33:29by practice. But most of all, you can improve the concentration.
0:33:30 > 0:33:31I don't think you can just make
0:33:31 > 0:33:33excuses in terms of the amount of work.
0:33:35 > 0:33:38- I'm not making excuses for the work. - HE CLEARS HIS THROAT
0:33:39 > 0:33:41Well, what are you saying?
0:33:41 > 0:33:44I'm saying there's a different situation then than there was now -
0:33:44 > 0:33:46that's all I'm saying. I'm not making excuses
0:33:46 > 0:33:49for the amount of work I'm doing for getting beat.
0:33:49 > 0:33:51Of course it's a different situation.
0:33:51 > 0:33:54Absolutely. And the amount of practice time really is down to you.
0:33:55 > 0:33:57And you must learn...
0:33:57 > 0:34:01You don't go on practice tables at tournaments with players.
0:34:01 > 0:34:05Now, seriously, you've got to stay away from them.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08Most of the top players know how good you are.
0:34:08 > 0:34:10Let them worry till match day.
0:34:11 > 0:34:12Let them sweat it out.
0:34:15 > 0:34:17You don't want to be building up their confidence.
0:34:19 > 0:34:22It's your confidence we're building up, not theirs.
0:34:22 > 0:34:25It's OK if you know you've played bad and the other player's played
0:34:25 > 0:34:28well to beat you, and he deserved to win, there's nothing you can do
0:34:28 > 0:34:31about it. But when it's your own stupidity,
0:34:31 > 0:34:34it's very frustrating. I remember the time in the World Championship,
0:34:34 > 0:34:39against Joe Johnson, where I had a chance for an easy black to make it
0:34:39 > 0:34:447-7, but I missed it and he potted it to make it 8-6.
0:34:44 > 0:34:46I went in the dressing room, Tommy was waiting for me.
0:34:46 > 0:34:49I threw my cue across the room and it was lucky he caught it.
0:34:49 > 0:34:52Kicked the door with my foot and I thought I broke my toe
0:34:52 > 0:34:55because, for the next four frames, I was limping.
0:34:55 > 0:34:56But, um... It got rid of some of
0:34:56 > 0:34:58that anger and I went out and I managed
0:34:58 > 0:35:00to play well, because I ended up
0:35:00 > 0:35:02only one frame behind going into the next day,
0:35:02 > 0:35:05so I think it must have helped me a bit to get rid of some of the anger.
0:35:09 > 0:35:11In those early cheap jewellery wearing days,
0:35:11 > 0:35:15it wasn't just his manager who was urging Hendry on.
0:35:15 > 0:35:17The young star was also unerringly
0:35:17 > 0:35:22driven by a simple desire to topple the great Steve Davis.
0:35:22 > 0:35:25Oh, he's destroyed me, really, every time I've played him
0:35:25 > 0:35:27and he's just played brilliant.
0:35:27 > 0:35:29Although I've played the wrong game.
0:35:29 > 0:35:33I've went out and I've not gave him the respect he deserve,
0:35:33 > 0:35:34so...
0:35:34 > 0:35:37I suppose he is my bogeyman in a way.
0:35:37 > 0:35:39- One.- That's enough!
0:35:39 > 0:35:45The world champion and favourite for this tournament
0:35:45 > 0:35:49has been toppled by the 18-year-old young Scottish sensation,
0:35:49 > 0:35:52Stephen Hendry, who goes into the
0:35:52 > 0:35:57last eight having taken victory at five frames to two.
0:35:57 > 0:36:00So, his all-round game was much better, so deserved to win.
0:36:00 > 0:36:05I think 5-2 was probably about right, really, I think on the day.
0:36:05 > 0:36:08If he keeps on putting in performances like that,
0:36:08 > 0:36:11I think we'll have a few battles in the future.
0:36:12 > 0:36:15Is it a coming-of-age, do you think,
0:36:15 > 0:36:18- for Stephen Hendry? - Um... I don't know, really.
0:36:21 > 0:36:22No, I just...
0:36:22 > 0:36:26I just... I just changed my game completely on the night, that's all.
0:36:26 > 0:36:28I know you've said before that it's not a question of, sort of,
0:36:28 > 0:36:31psychological things, but now you've done it, it's out the way now,
0:36:31 > 0:36:34- isn't it?- Yeah. Definitely.
0:36:34 > 0:36:36I wasn't really consciously thinking about it.
0:36:36 > 0:36:37Steve's always beating me, like.
0:36:37 > 0:36:43But I just went out there and I played out of my skin, really.
0:36:43 > 0:36:45The young challenger would
0:36:45 > 0:36:49eventually beat Davis in two consecutive UK Championship finals,
0:36:49 > 0:36:51but it was Jimmy White who would suffer most
0:36:51 > 0:36:53at the hand of Hendry.
0:36:54 > 0:36:57Jimmy White's always been my hero, since I started.
0:36:57 > 0:37:00I seen him in an exhibition in Scotland when I was 13
0:37:00 > 0:37:03and he could do things with the cue ball that I'd never seen
0:37:03 > 0:37:05anyone else do, and it was unbelievable.
0:37:05 > 0:37:07From then on, he's been my idol.
0:37:11 > 0:37:15So I can identify most with his game because it's the way I play.
0:37:15 > 0:37:17I've never been coached, neither has he.
0:37:17 > 0:37:19I just sort of learned everything myself.
0:37:21 > 0:37:23We're playing a fiver a hole, yeah?
0:37:23 > 0:37:25Yeah, OK.
0:37:25 > 0:37:27Where did you go, Tom?
0:37:27 > 0:37:30- I'm up the middle. - Young Tom is dead.
0:37:33 > 0:37:36I met Stephen when he was about 14...
0:37:36 > 0:37:39with his father, and I've seen him progress from then.
0:37:39 > 0:37:42And now he's one of probably the strongest...
0:37:42 > 0:37:45one of the strongest players in the game. He's fearless, he's...
0:37:45 > 0:37:48Also has a good attacking game
0:37:48 > 0:37:50and I love to see players like that, you know.
0:37:50 > 0:37:52I don't like to see players that, no disrespect,
0:37:52 > 0:37:53they are good in their own right,
0:37:53 > 0:37:57but they don't really give the thrills that the public want to see.
0:37:57 > 0:38:01And Stephen is like a prime example of, like, you know,
0:38:01 > 0:38:04just pure brilliance. I enjoy his game all the time.
0:38:06 > 0:38:08Although maybe not all the time.
0:38:08 > 0:38:11Hendry and White met in four
0:38:11 > 0:38:14World Championship finals and Hendry won all of them.
0:38:14 > 0:38:18White's inability to triumph over his friend was painfully
0:38:18 > 0:38:21captured on children's TV show Record Breakers.
0:38:23 > 0:38:24Are you ready?
0:38:26 > 0:38:31The great comeback merchant, digging deep for glory again.
0:38:31 > 0:38:34He's absolutely right on the brown, if he can get round for the blue.
0:38:34 > 0:38:35That's going to be the key shot.
0:38:35 > 0:38:39Is he on the blue? He's round very fast.
0:38:39 > 0:38:43Stop that cue ball! It went on and on for ever.
0:38:43 > 0:38:46In goes the blue. 17.71,
0:38:46 > 0:38:47perfect on the pink.
0:38:47 > 0:38:49He's now on the black.
0:38:52 > 0:38:56White had held the speed record for potting all the colours
0:38:56 > 0:38:58in 26.01 seconds.
0:39:02 > 0:39:06That's it, you've got him. 25.90. 25, that was really good.
0:39:06 > 0:39:08- You are pleased with that? - Absolutely, yeah.
0:39:08 > 0:39:10You must have been. Well, Jim...
0:39:10 > 0:39:13- He's done me again. - Your last chance, you can do it.
0:39:13 > 0:39:17Don't let him take this off you.
0:39:24 > 0:39:26- Are you ready?- Yeah.
0:39:27 > 0:39:29The Whirlwind's title has been taken away.
0:39:29 > 0:39:34This is the last chance for Jimmy White to regain it.
0:39:34 > 0:39:35The Wonder Bairn has beaten him in
0:39:35 > 0:39:37the World Championships and is beating
0:39:37 > 0:39:38him for the fastest player on earth.
0:39:38 > 0:39:41But Jimmy White won't have that, he doesn't like the blue.
0:39:41 > 0:39:43The blue is in terrible trouble for him.
0:39:43 > 0:39:45His chances are ebbing away.
0:39:45 > 0:39:50His title has gone! The new World Speed Snooker Champion is the
0:39:50 > 0:39:55Wonder Bairn, Stephen Hendry. Jimmy White loses his crown.
0:39:57 > 0:39:58There it is.
0:39:58 > 0:40:02Gosh. That was exciting, wasn't it?
0:40:02 > 0:40:03Well done. Thank you, Mike Clark,
0:40:03 > 0:40:06for coming along and refereeing for us, that's kind of you.
0:40:06 > 0:40:08Commiserations to you, Jim.
0:40:08 > 0:40:09I'm terribly sorry.
0:40:09 > 0:40:13And the new Speed Snooker Champion is now Stephen Hendry.
0:40:13 > 0:40:14CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:40:19 > 0:40:23Stephen Hendry is undoubtedly a contender for the title of snooker's
0:40:23 > 0:40:25greatest ever player, having won
0:40:25 > 0:40:29seven World and five UK Championships.
0:40:29 > 0:40:33When he announced his retirement in 2012, it was the end of an era.
0:40:33 > 0:40:35I'm officially retired now from tournament snooker.
0:40:35 > 0:40:37I made the decision about three months ago.
0:40:37 > 0:40:39I told two or three people, but, yeah,
0:40:39 > 0:40:42this is me finished from tournament snooker.
0:40:45 > 0:40:47What an ambassador he has been for
0:40:47 > 0:40:50our game of snooker and he's helped to
0:40:50 > 0:40:51grow the game all over the world.
0:40:51 > 0:40:53Wherever he's gone, he's been very,
0:40:53 > 0:40:58very popular and well done to the King of the Crucible.
0:40:59 > 0:41:03I think the snooker world will just respect this man
0:41:03 > 0:41:04for what he's achieved.
0:41:10 > 0:41:12He's done it!
0:41:12 > 0:41:15He was something special, the best player, the best match player,
0:41:15 > 0:41:17the best competitor I've ever known.
0:41:19 > 0:41:23I've had so many great memories, the youngest world champion,
0:41:23 > 0:41:25three maximums.
0:41:25 > 0:41:28Absolutely fantastic!
0:41:28 > 0:41:31There's only one Stephen Hendry.
0:41:31 > 0:41:34The '90s, I think I won five in a row here.
0:41:34 > 0:41:37You know, it's...
0:41:37 > 0:41:39There was a time when I just felt invincible.
0:41:39 > 0:41:45It's a magnificent seven times for Stephen Hendry in the '90s.
0:41:47 > 0:41:49At the end of the day, the record books
0:41:49 > 0:41:51will tell you what Stephen Hendry was
0:41:51 > 0:41:53and it will leave a hole in snooker.
0:41:55 > 0:41:57It's for people's opinion who is the best player,
0:41:57 > 0:41:59but as long as I'm in that discussion
0:41:59 > 0:42:01then I've done all right.
0:42:05 > 0:42:07And what of our other all-time greats?
0:42:07 > 0:42:11Ray Reardon and Cliff Thorburn are retired and enjoying their status as
0:42:11 > 0:42:13legends of the game.
0:42:13 > 0:42:17And Steve Davis finally saw those DJ-ing dreams realised,
0:42:17 > 0:42:20even entertaining the crowds at the Glastonbury Festival in 2016.
0:42:23 > 0:42:24And Dennis Taylor, darlings,
0:42:24 > 0:42:28swapped snooker balls for glitter balls on Strictly Come Dancing.
0:42:28 > 0:42:29Hmmm.
0:42:29 > 0:42:32Then, in 2010, came this.
0:42:32 > 0:42:33Dennis Taylor!
0:42:56 > 0:42:59Davis and Taylor - the rematch!
0:42:59 > 0:43:04A reunion for the 25th anniversary of that unforgettable final.
0:43:04 > 0:43:05It was only a bit of fun,
0:43:05 > 0:43:09but it showed just how much affection remains for all these
0:43:09 > 0:43:14game-changing players who turned snooker into a national obsession.
0:43:14 > 0:43:16And made it as unmissable as...
0:43:17 > 0:43:19Well, as a long black,
0:43:19 > 0:43:24off the top cushion, into the bottom corner pocket!