Simply put, what a lovely man with a large heart and wonderful company. I’ll never forget the week I spent with him in Ireland. Many people in the world of Snooker will miss you. RIP, WT

Simply put, what a lovely man with a large heart and wonderful company. I’ll never forget the week I spent with him in Ireland. Many people in the world of Snooker will miss you. RIP, WT.

A world of snooker mourns ‘Mr Maximum’: Willie Thorne, the former Miss GB and Strictly star who lost £1 million gambling, passes away at the age of 66 in a Spanish hospital from “septic shock” during his battle with leukemia.

Thorne, who claimed to be fighting leukemia in March, passed away at 1.55 in the morning after respiratory failure, according to his caretaker. Thorne was admitted to the hospital last week due to low blood pressure.
Doctors chose to “turn off the machines” because, according to caregiver Julie O’Neill, he was not responding to treatment.
After retiring in 2002, the legendary athlete battled £1 million in gambling problems and had his house confiscated.
Willie Thorne, a former Strictly Come Dancing contestant and snooker player, passed away in a Spanish hospital following respiratory failure and “septic shock.”

When he passed away at Torrevieja Hospital, next to his rented apartment in Alicante, at 1.55 in the morning, the 66-year-old was accompanied by his children, who expressed to him how much they loved him.

Thorne, who announced he was battling leukemia in March, was brought to hospital last week with dangerously low blood pressure and was put on a ventilator in an induced coma on Sunday.

According to his carer Julie O’Neill, on a GoFundMe website, physicians opted to “turn off the machines” since the patient was not responding to therapy, which included three different types of medications for three distinct diseases.

The athletic great, who was formerly married to Jill Saxby, a former Miss Great Britain, until last year, was initially brought to the hospital on May 2 and underwent heart and MRI scans, three blood transfusions, and viral therapy.

“I was with him all the way to his end and reading out messages to him from people,” Ms. O’Neill wrote. I find some solace in the knowledge that his children are saying they love dad during this trying time, as he died away quietly and painlessly.

“Here in Spain, things move really swiftly, so.

Ms Saxby had been trying to make their relationship work, but his addiction had made it impossible. Days after the couple split, Thorne’s £475,000 home was repossessed after reports the mortgage had not been paid.