1) In 1999, Clive Everton was commentating at Preston. Typist’s chairs on runners were provided for the box. Clive leant backwards a little too far. The chair shot forward; Clive shot back and instinctively threw out his left hand, thereby throttling Dennis Taylor with his tie. Even so, Clive finished flat on his back, hanging out of the back door of the commentary box. Gamely, he struggled to his feet and continued broadcasting. Dennis’s tie had been pulled so tight he was required to cut it off.

2) During snooker’s explosion in popularity in the mid-eighties, many new events came into being. One was the Yamaha Organs Trophy at the Assembly Rooms, Derby, covered by ITV. As Kirk Stevens threatened to make a clearance, Dennis Taylor noted that he was on course to tie the tournament’s highest break – the prize for which was one of the sponsor’s products. “That may be true, Dennis,” said John Pulman, “but what can you do with half an organ.”

3) The reason Ted Lowe used to whisper emanates from his introduction to broadcasting the game from Leicester Square Hall, the home of the professional game, in the forties. Back then there were no commentary boxes. Ted was perched, with microphone, in amongst the crowd, and did not want to distract the players.

4) At the champion’s dinner following the 1996 Regal Scottish Masters in Motherwell, one of the sponsor’s guests complimented me on my commentary that week. “Obviously you’ve got Sky then,” I asked. “No,” came the gruff reply. “I’ve been sitting on the front row.”

5) In the early eighties, Ted Lowe was taken ill in the opening frame of a Masters match at Wembley Conference Centre. His analyst, Rex Williams, had to prop him against the commentary box wall while he called for assistance on production talkback. It was eleven minutes before Ted was taken out on a stretcher, during which time not a word of commentary was uttered. Not a single complaint was received from BBC viewers and Ted made a swift recovery.

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