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Snooker star Joe Johnson was one of the most unlikely World Championship winners the sport has ever seen. A whopping 150-1 shot before the tournament got underway, Johnson went all the way to the final and beat the legendary Steve Davis.

Remarkably, the 1986 triumph remained the only ranking title Johnson won throughout his career. But much bigger than that was the impact it had on his life, with Johnson thrown straight into the spotlight by becoming a household name practically overnight.

Explaining just how much his life changed during an interview with The Guardian, Johnson even recounted a chance meeting with the late Princess Diana. He said: "I liked it [being famous] because famous people liked me.

"At some function Princess Diana was shaking people's hands, moving down the line, but when she came to me she stopped: 'Oh, you're the snooker player with the pink shoes.' After talking a while she said: 'Do you like tennis?' I said: 'I love tennis.'

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"She then said: 'Would you and your wife like to go?' When I said yes, Diana asked: 'Is there a star you would like to go with us?' I chose Cliff Richard."

A remarkable gesture and yet another example of the Princess' humility. Continuing the anecdote, Johnson said: "So the four of us went to the tennis. My wife wanted to sit next to Diana and I wanted to sit next to Cliff, but it didn't work out.

"When we sat down, Terryl whispers: 'Cliff's sat on my dress. Would you ask Diana to swap?' I said: 'I'm not asking her that. It's disrespectful.' So Cliff sat on her dress the whole time. She wasn't happy."

Johnson's life was far from simple after winning the World Championship, with the snooker star having to battle health and financial problems. He was forced into selling his house, and suffered seven heart attacks.

Explaining the ordeal, he said: "My eyesight went in 1988 and I struggled on for another four years. But once I slipped out of the top 16 the big money events disappeared. One of the most disappointing things was having to sell the house because I couldn't afford the repayments. That was 1991-92. I also had my first heart attack in 1991.

"I had seven heart attacks, but then I had a quadruple bypass and the surgeon said: 'If you don't stop smoking it's over.' I've been OK since then."