Made by the BBC and broadast via iPlayer rather than on any of the Beeb channels, The Rack Pack is an entertaining drama about the rise of snooker in the 1980s and the rivalry between establishment darling Steve Davis and baize wild boy Alex Higgins.
I'm a massive Higgins fans and he still remains one of my sporting heroes, and Olivier Award-winner Luke Treadaway certainly captured the charm and the tempestuous nature of ‘The Hurricane’. The drama did, however, skirt over some of Higgins’ more self-destructive and offensive episodes and essentially portrayed him as a tortured Byronesque figure. That may well have been one side of him, but it wasn’t the entire picture.
Will Merrick is excellent as Steve Davis, the dominant snooker force in the 1980s, who provided the strait-laced and corporate ying to Higgins’ explosive yang. There’s also a notable mention for Kevin Bishop as Davis’ wide boy entrepreneur manager, Barry Hearn.
The comedy-drama may offer slightly rose-tinted view of the era and its stars, particularly where Higgins is concerned, but it’s a tender and highly engaging piece of TV, and it’s well worth a look if you have affection or nostalgia for the era or its players.
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