John Virgo’s tragic reason behind loss of life revealed as pal says he wakened in evening in ache
The 79-year-old died in Spain, where he had been happily living since the Covid pandemic, and was ‘right as rain’, even planning a birthday trip with his beloved wife
John Virgo was living in Spain at the time of his death
Snooker legend John Virgo died of a ruptured aorta after waking up in the middle of the night in pain, his heartbroken best pal said.
James Malyon, 46, said he rushed to Xanit Hospital in Benalmadena after being alerted by John’s wife Rosie to the medical emergency. But tragically, he wasn’t able to make it in time to say his last goodbyes.
James, who spoke to John on Tuesday, said: “He passed away around 5.30am. He woke Rosie up in pain and discomfort around 2.30 this morning and she called an ambulance and he was taken to hospital where around three hours later he passed away.
“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 which is a bit scary.
“He said that with a rupture like that if it had happened to a fit 30-year-old man it would almost certainly have been the same outcome.
“So it wasn’t due to any underlying health issues, it wasn’t due to any ongoing illness and that’s why it has been so tough because it was just completely out of the blue. John had been okay.”
James said John “was in good form” when a group of pals went out for a drink together in December when Dennis Taylor visited him in Spain.
TV star John’s death came just a fortnight after he commentated on the Masters final at London’s Alexandra Palace for the BBC. James added: “He’d got back to the Costa del Sol on Friday and I spoke with him only yesterday afternoon around about 2.30pm.
“John and Rosie had just got back from the Miramar Shopping Centre in Fuengirola and had been doing the normal everyday things. He was right as rain. It had been a totally normal day for him, nothing out of the ordinary.”
John’s tragic death came just days before his 17th wedding anniversary with third wife Rosie and just a month before his 80th birthday. James, who met John playing golf in Spain in 2019, went on: “Rosie’s obviously very gutted.
“They had plans to go for dinner together on the 9th and were planning a trip together to Madrid for a lovely weekend to celebrate his 80th but now obviously that’s not going to happen.
“They came to Spain around the Covid era and spent a lot of the lockdown in Fuengirola while they had renovation work done on their villa here. The reports about him coming to Spain for health reasons are true.”
“He’s had a long-standing neck problem which meant his golf swing was not as fluid as before and one of the reasons for coming here would have been for the better climate. But what happened in the early hours of this morning had nothing to do with his neck problem.
“To the best of my knowledge John didn’t have high blood pressure. He did smoke. But the doctors at the hospital made no mention of underlying health issues that were related to his death. They simply said he suffered a ruptured aorta.
“They did everything they could but with a rupture like that there was nothing they could do to prevent his passing. Rosie called me and I didn’t sadly get to hospital in time to see him before he died.
“To the best of my knowledge there was going to be a CT scan but it all happened so quickly it was impossible for them to do anything.
“I got to the hospital around half an hour before John passed away. It’s scary how life can go like that and that’s what’s so hard for everyone because it all happened so fast.”
James added that his pal “always had a great story to tell” and was passionate about snooker and many other sports, adding: “He was a great Manchester United fan and the life and soul, with some great stories and jokes, just a great guy to be around.”
Just before Christmas, John was in Christy’s Irish Gastropub & Sports Lounge in Fuengirola for a drink with friends including fellow ex-professionals Dennis Taylor and Ken Doherty as well as James.
Bar owner Nick Griffin said: “It’s very sad news. John was a lovely normal guy, no airs and graces, from Salford which is a down-to-earth place and he was really down to earth.
“He came in about four or five times a year, always in the afternoons, and he’d have half a pint of Guinness. That was his drink. He was last in just over a month ago and he looked in good form.
“He lived locally. He was well-known in Fuengirola. He was snooker-crazy, he was always talking about snooker and the old days and Alex Higgins and everything else. He really really loved snooker.
“Someone sent me a message this morning saying he’d died and then I looked on the internet and obviously read more about it. Anyone who had met John would feel very sad because he was such a nice guy.”
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