Thorne denies £18,000 loan fraud
Allegations of disregarding bankruptcy regulations
WILLIE Thorne has appeared in court accused of taking out an £18,000 loan without revealing he was bankrupt.
The 65-year-old former snooker player and pundit pleaded not guilty to unlawfully obtaining the credit from a private individual in April 2018.
Wearing a pinstripe suit and black and cream tie, Thorne sat in the dock at Leicester Crown Court during the half-hour hearing, as legal discussions took place.
Thorne separated from his wife, former Miss Great Britain Jill Saxby, 59, in November, and has been living in Villamartin, Spain.
He formerly lived in Broughton Astley, but his home there was repossessed at the end of last year.
Twice-married Thorne, a father of three, was made bankrupt in 2015 after racking up debts because of a muchpublicised gambling addiction.
Judge Nicholas Dean QC adjourned the case for a three-day trial.
He told Thorne: “You’ve pleaded not guilty to this allegation – that’s your privilege.
“You will understand, as your barrister, Mr Lee, will have advised you, that if you plead guilty after today the credit you get for it diminishes as time goes on.
“One of the orders I’m making is you provide a defence case statement; a written response to the prosecution’s case. You will be on bail, in part because you’re living on the continent.”
The judge gave Thorne a routine warning, given to all defendants contesting allegations: “If you fail to attend your trial that’s an offence and you could find yourself arrested and remanded into custody.
“A trial could proceed in your absence and that would be a disadvantage to you.”
The snooker veteran is being prosecuted by the Insolvency Service, which alleges he borrowed the £18,000 without disclosing to the lender that he was subject to a bankruptcy restrictions order.
Thorne became the national under16 champion in snooker in 1970. He reached the quarter-finals of the World Snooker Championships in 1982 and 1986 and won the Classic in 1985.
He gave up playing professionally in the mid-1990s, before becoming a BBC commentator for 20 years.
Thorne ran a snooker club in Leicester for many years where Mark Selby often played.
The former TV pundit also competed in Strictly Come Dancing with dance partner Erin Boag, in 2007, and last year took part in ITV’s The Real Full Monty.