Masked Singer star Stephen Hendry has revealed he was fined by snooker bosses for pulling out of tournaments to film for the ITV show.
Seven-time world champion Hendry was revealed as the character ‘Rubbish’ on the celebrity singing series on Saturday night.
The 54-year-old Scot was unmasked after 4.3 million ITV viewers saw him perform My Old Man’s a Dustman by Lonnie Donegan and Kaiser Chiefs hit single Ruby.
And snooker legend Hendry – who was given a wildcard to return to the pro tour – was slapped with fines by the sport’s WPBSA governing body for missing events that clashed with filming.
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“I do have wildcards to play in some snooker events and I actually pulled out of a couple of events and got fined by the WPBSA for doing it,” Hendry told the PA news agency.
“And I couldn’t tell them why because this recording was going on and I couldn’t obviously say why I pulled out… I just said ‘Look, I can’t play the tournament’.
“So, yeah, it was, very, very, very strange… you’re dying to tell people what you’re doing but you can’t.”
(Image: ITV)
(Image: PA)
WPBSA rules state that a player will be issued with a standard fine if they pull out of a tournament after a draw has been made.
And Hendry revealed that he still chose to go on the show to ‘have fun’ and because he was able to keep his anonymity during performances.
“I have been asked to do the other reality shows, but the thing that appealed to me about this one obviously was the fact that you are in a costume,” he said. “Nobody can see you.
“And obviously (there is no) stress – this is not a singing competition, it’s just a show that you just go in this costume and have fun.”
On the reaction to his shock unveiling on the show, Hendry added: “The main theme was ‘I can’t believe you did that’.
“‘I can’t believe you did that and I can’t believe you kept it quiet’. My son texted me and said ‘I’ve watched the show every week. I love it. I can’t believe you’ve done that.”
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This post appeared first on Daily Star – Snooker.
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