Snooker legend John Virgo has died at the age of 79 after suffering a ruptured aorta at his home in Spain. The former world champion and TV presenter passed away in the early hours of this morning at Xanit Hospital in Benalmadena, Costa del Sol.
His close friend James Malyon, 46, said Virgo's wife Rosie Ries called him after the snooker icon woke her at around 2.30am with the health emergency. Malyon rushed to the hospital but was unable to say a final goodbye. “He passed away around 5.30am today,” Malyon said. “He had suffered a ruptured aorta, which is the main artery running down the body. According to the doctor, there’s nothing medical that causes it; it can just happen.”
Virgo, who had been living full-time in Mijas near Fuengirola since before the Covid pandemic, had been in good health. He had recently returned from commentating at the Masters in London and had been out with friends in December. Malyon spoke to him yesterday afternoon and said he was “right as rain”. The couple had plans to celebrate their 16th wedding anniversary on February 9 and his 80th birthday on March 4.
Malyon described Virgo as “the life and soul, with some great stories and jokes”. Another friend said funeral arrangements are yet to be finalised, with a service likely in Spain and a memorial in the UK. Virgo, known as the voice of snooker, became a household name in the 1990s on the BBC show Big Break.
