A member of the crowd helps with a trickshot

It was busy night for me at the Leicester Mercury Sports Awards yesterday. I had the honour of providing entertainment for the 450 guests before they took their seats for the Awards Ceremony at Leicester Tigers’ Welford Road Stadium.

Me with Willie

It was great to be able to perform at an event attended by so many celebrities from the world of sport and entertainment. I had the pleasure of sharing a dressing room with the evening’s host, snooker legend Willie Thorne, who also helped me with some practice before the show!

During the evening, another cueman, World Snooker Number One, Mark Selby was crowned Sportsman of the Year, while Whitwick athlete Gemma Steel won the Sportswoman of the Year trophy.

The ceremony included a Lifetime Achievement award for the first time. It went to former Leicester City and Leicestershire CCC player Graham Cross and was presented by William Roache, Coronation Street’s Ken Barlow.

After the ceremony, entertainment was provided by the soulful X-Factor star, Andy Abraham.

The event has been running for over 15 years, but it was the first time it was organised by Champions (UK) plc. Their team did a fantastic job, bringing some real showbiz sparkle to the awards. It was fantastic to be just a small part of the proceedings.