[5] Thorne was educated at the Thomas Rawlins School in Quorn,[4] and played multiple sports but excelled the most in snooker.

[6] He turned professional in 1975,[7] but never really converted his early promise into success, only winning one ranking snooker tournament (The Classic in 1985).

[7] The same year, he reached the 1985 UK Championship final against the then dominant Steve Davis and seemed to have built himself an unassailable 13–8 lead, but a miss on a straightforward blue off its spot during the first frame of the final session allowed Davis to take the frame and eventually win the title.

[8] Thorne won the 1986 Hong Kong Masters by 8–3 over Dennis Taylor in the final with century breaks of 102 and 106,[9] and then defeated Davis 10–9 to claim the 1986 Matchroom Professional Championship.

[18] Alongside other Matchroom professionals, Thorne featured in the popular song "Snooker Loopy", written and performed by Chas & Dave.

[8] Thorne was described as a skilled break-builder and possibly the "missing link" between old-school percentage play and the current aggressive potting game.

[16] After retiring from the game in 2001,[17] Thorne did not play another match for sixteen years; however, he returned to action in 2017 in the World Seniors Championship, where he lost 1–3 in the first round to Aiden Owens.

His next match, in the first round of the 2019 UK Seniors Championship, proved to be his last; drawn against Michael Judge, Thorne lost 2–3.

Thorne was married to former Miss Great Britain winner Jill Saxby[23] and lived in Broughton Astley.

[5] From 1982, he ran the Willie Thorne Snooker Centre club in Leicester, converted from a former motor taxation office,[6] where Mark Selby used to compete in junior tournaments.

[33] The following day, his carer reported that Thorne had gone into septic shock, was not responding to treatment, and died after his life support was withdrawn, aged 66.