ONE of snooker’s most recognisable stars will take a break from the sport to talk at this year’s Warrington Business Awards.
Dennis Taylor – known as much for his over-sized glasses as his cue action – will entertain guests at the Park Royal Hotel on July 10.
On Monday Nicola Priest, group editor at the Warrington Guardian, said the former world snooker champion promised to bring a great sense of humour to the occasion.
“Dennis is known as one of snooker’s biggest and most popular characters,” she said.
“It is exciting for us to be welcoming him – and hopefully his trademark glasses – to the awards.”
The Warrington Guardian is organising the event with the support of its main partners, the Northwest Regional Development Agency and Warrington Borough Council.
Dennis signed up for the awards last week before heading to Snooker World Championships in Sheffield.
He can be heard this week commentating for the BBC as the likes of Ronnie O’Sullivan and Stephen Hendry battle it out for snooker’s most prestigious title.
Although O’Sullivan is expected to light up The Crucible again over the fortnight, he is unlikely to match the excitement generated by Dennis Taylor’s victory over Steve Davies in the 1985 final.
Then, 18 million people were still watching when the final black was potted at 10 minutes past midnight.
As well as his sporting achievements he is known for his glasses, so much so that selectspecs.com sandwiches him between Hollywood heartthrob Johnny Depp and fashion guru Gok Wan in their list of successful, celebrities who wear glasses.
He was a contestant on the third series of Strictly Come Dancing, but his talk in Warrington is likely to focus on humorous tales from his snooker career.
Dennis describes the world championship final, in which he recovered from eight nil down, as his most memorable sporting moment.
“Everyone who saw it seems to remember where they were when it happened and has a story about it,” he said.
“It was a great moment. To win a 35-frame match after 15 hours at the table to become world champion will always stay right up there.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here