John Virgo, who has died aged 79, made his name through snooker, but found fame through television – chiefly in the form of the Big Break gameshow on BBC1, which attracted millions of viewers in the 1990s.
Having had a respectable but non-stellar career on the green baize, Virgo transitioned to the small screen as a referee in the snooker-based Big Break, which was hosted by the comedian Jim Davidson and ran in a prime-time Saturday evening slot from 1991 to 2002, attracting up to 14 million viewers per episode at its peak.
