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³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Sport's coverage of the 2010 World Championship Snooker tournament begins on Saturday 17 April on ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Two, live and exclusive from The Crucible, in Sheffield.

Day one will see John Higgins begin his defence of the World Championship trophy as he bids to secure the title for a fourth time.

Guiding viewers through the action for the 17-day tournament will be Hazel Irvine and Rishi Persad, who will be joined in the studio by Steve Davis, John Parrott and Ken Doherty. Both six-time champion Davis and 1997 champion Doherty, will be combining TV duties with their own campaigns for the trophy.

Expert commentary will be provided by Dennis Taylor, John Virgo, Willie Thorne, Neal Foulds, Terry Griffiths and Clive Everton.

³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Red Button coverage will give snooker fans access to daily live action as well as Snooker On The Red, a weekday highlights programme shown at 6pm.

Hosted by Rob Walker, Snooker On The Red will give viewers the opportunity to catch up with all the action from the morning session.

³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Sport website will also offer live streaming from the Championship (UK only) at bbc.co.uk/snooker, as well as details of the full ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ schedule across TV, online and Red Button.

This year will also mark the 25th anniversary of one British sport's golden moments – the 1985 World Championship Snooker final. The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ will be marking this occasion with a documentary called Eightyfive – The Final, on Sunday 2 May, 7-7.50pm.

At its peak, over 18.5 million people sat glued to their sets as Steve Davis and Dennis Taylor battled past midnight to a final and deciding black ball.

The documentary will follow Colin Murray as he journeys around the UK filling in the gaps on the first time that he was allowed to see the other side of midnight.

Along the way, he finds answers to questions such as: Where did Dennis's "upside-down glasses" actually come from?; What really went on behind those dressing room doors?; How do you spread good news in a world without mobile phones?; and how different would the lives of those two protagonists been, if the result had have been reversed that night?

There are contributions from, among others, Barry McGuigan, David Icke, Ted Lowe, Stephen Hendry and Barry Hearn.

Notes to Editors

Transmission details correct as at 14.04.10 and may be subject to schedule change.

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