British snooker commentator Ted Lowe dies aged 90

May 1, 2011

British snooker commentator has died at the age of 90. Lowe, who received the nickname "Whispering Ted" due to his broadcasting style commentated on many of snooker's biggest events including the between  and. His death has come on the same day as the first session of the.

His wife, Jean commented on his death. She said "His health had been deteriorating for the last 10 weeks. He went into a hospice a week ago and I never left his side. But I could see he was slowly going. He still loves snooker and was watching it on TV."

Tributes have been paid to Lowe by several snooker players and commentators. said "He set a standard for us all. He was wonderful, he had an impish sense of humour and while cricket had its  and  had its Dan Maskell, we had Ted Lowe. He was one of the BBC greats. It's a sad day for snooker and he'll be sadly missed."

also posted a message on social networking site Twitter saying "Still in shock and so saddened. Absolutely gutted. He was a great friend of my dad's and an absolute gentleman. I loved him dearly."

As well as commentating on snooker tournaments Lowe hosted the BBC television programme. Lowe is also remembered by viewers for his quote after colour televisions started to appear. During a game he said "He's going for the pink, and for those of you with black-and-white sets, the yellow is behind the blue."