John Virgo gave the same response when questioned about working side-by-side with comedian Jim Davidson. Pairing a cockney Conservative-supporting comic with a "dour" northern socialist was an intriguing decision.

However, the duo managed to deliver over a decade of comedic brilliance on the legendary snooker gameshow Big Break - Davidson as the host and teller of cheesy gags and Virgo as the wonderfully deadpan referee. Virgo, who died in February aged 79, was frequently questioned about his partnership with Davidson, with some anticipating a critical answer. However, having spent so much time alongside snooker's most notorious wild man, Alex Higgins, the former UK Championship winner had no issues.

Virgo once said: "Jim had a bit of a reputation in the business for being hard work. A few people asked me, 'How are you getting on working with Jim Davidson?' I said, 'He doesn't bother me, I worked with Higgins for 20 years!' I wasn't daunted by working with Jim.

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"It's a funny thing about life. He's your crafty Conservative comedian and I'm your dour northern socialist. How do you come up with that? But obviously the chemistry worked."

While Davidson's snooker knowledge was limited, Virgo praised the funnyman's generosity, adding: "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. Besides, when you're in those positions, the most important thing is that the show works."

On getting the call to do Big Break, Virgo recalled: "I still had the commentary and I still had exhibitions, where I'd do impersonations of other players, which was very popular.

"Then, all of a sudden, I get this phone call, 'Would you be interested in doing this TV show, a quiz show with snooker, with Jim Davidson.'

"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. In all honesty, after doing the first couple of shows, I was thinking, 'I don't see how this works.'

"Anyway, we did eight [episodes]. We took over the slot from A Question of Sport on a Tuesday night [before Big Break moved to its early Saturday evening slot] and the viewing figures were better! That shows you the popularity of snooker at the time.

"Then I got another phone call and they wanted us to go back into the studio to do another 18! We ran for 10 years and peaked at nearly 14million viewers. It was remarkable."

The 2026 World Championship opened with a heartfelt tribute to Virgo, who passed away just weeks after commentating on the Masters final. The opening session, featuring world champion Zhao Xintong, was preceded by a minute's applause in honour of the much-loved former player and broadcaster.