Photo Section

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Me when I was little Ronnie and Dad … Dad has been a powerful presence in my life … and a powerful absence. When he went down for murder, I was in pieces.

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Me and Mum … When we went into business together, I said to Mum, whatever I earn and whatever you earn we’ll pool together.

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With Stephen Hendry back in 1996 when we both looked like kids … for me, Hendry is the greatest player ever. When we fell out it hurt, but it was my fault. (Louisa Buller/PA)

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2004 … winning the World Championship and celebrating with a pair of Dracula teeth. Everyone thought it was a tribute to Ray ‘Dracula’ Reardon, but I’d promised my mate Scouse John I’d stick ’em in if I ever won the World again. (Rui Vieira/PA)

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Me with six-time world champion Ray Reardon … I love Ray, he’s the funniest man I ever met and a great coach, but I started playing too cautiously. (Trevor Smith Photography)

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The great snooker cover-up … 2005, UK Championship, I put the wet towel over my head because I couldn’t bear watching Mark King play. (Eric Whitehead)

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Giving Lil a kiss after winning the World Championship in 2008 – my third world title, and a lovely feeling. (Getty)

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Me and the trophy in 2008. I was so gaunt everyone asked if I was ill, but I was just super fit. (Anna Gowthorpe/PA)

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Me and little Ronnie in 2012. To go from barely seeing the kids to having my little boy sharing that moment with me was just perfect. It couldn’t get any better. (Getty)

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Me and little Ronnie 2013. What a way to cap off the craziest year in my snooker life. After my self-imposed exile, I came back and won the World Championship for the fifth time. (Rex)

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Me, Sylvia, Damien and little Ron partying after I won the 2013 Worlds – Sylv is Damien’s assistant and part of the gang.

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Me and Damien Hirst, giving the world the finger. He makes me look almost civilised!

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Running … my religion, my belief system, my way of keeping calm. (Mel Fordham)

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Me and my personal trainer Tracey Alexandrou … she’s a brilliant athlete and has been a constant in my life. Tracey gives it me straight. If I’m not fit, she won’t pretend otherwise.

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At the farm … I loved working there during my year away from snooker, but cleaning out the pigsties didn’t half put me off my ham. (Tom Jenkins)

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On my way to victory in the Lactic Rush assault course … it was bloody murder, but I was determined, especially after I heard one fella shout out to his mate, ‘You can’t let a snooker player beat you.’ (Mel Fordham)

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Running in Birmingham with the great Ethiopian Olympic 5,000m and 10,000m gold medallist Tirunesh Dibaba. She couldn’t believe the miles I was putting in. (Alan Walter)

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Me, Chris Davies, his family and friends. They promised me I’d do my PB in France and I did.

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Me and Chris Davies and his wife Amanda in France. All the family are incredible runners, and I loved the fact that I became part of their extended family. Happy days.

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At Woodford Green athletics club with Alan Rugg, Barry Elwell, Bernadine Pritchett and Terry McCarthy … none of them cared that I played snooker, and most of them didn’t even know. They just accepted me as a runner. (Tom Jenkins)

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Me, Chris Davies’s dad Terry and his mum Lyn in France … we were staying in a hotel for £18 a night, running every day, eating pizzas, talking about running, and I thought I’d cracked life.

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Love this pic … me, Lil and little Ronnie. Everything that makes life worthwhile. I took my year off the game to make sure I could get quality time with the kids.

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Me, Damien and Irish Chris … vital men in my corner. Lovely fellas as well.

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I’ll tell Irish Chris how shit I think I really am at snooker and he just looks at me as if I’m mad. That’s friendship! But here we are with a nice little world trophy.

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In the first half of my career, it was drink and drugs that kept me on the straight and narrow – crazy though that sounds. This time round, it’s been the running that’s kept my head straight. Or at least as straight as mine will ever be. (Tom Jenkins)

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