Snooker super-fan Alistair McGowan takes a trip through the BBC archives for an affectionate look at the lives and careers of three of snooker's best-loved and most charismatic stars - Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins, Jimmy 'Whirlwind' White and Ronnie 'the Rocket' O'Sullivan. We look at the early television appearances that captured each of them before they really hit the big time, chart the ups and downs of their careers and examine programmes ranging from Wogan to Top Gear to get a real sense of why each of this trio were, in their day, known as 'The People's Champions'.

Alistair McGowan looks at the legends of the green baize who helped make snooker both a national obsession and a television phenomenon. Alistair's exploration of the BBC archive's deepest pockets uncovers rare interviews with the players who set new standards in the game, from the explosion of characters and colour in the 1970s to the dominance of Davis and Hendry in the 80s and 90s, and the famous black-ball final of 1985 that shattered nerves and TV viewing figures.