Thorne's bald head made him instantly recognisable and he was often referred to as the "Homer Simpson of Snooker". He first began commentating for the BBC during the 1980s, and he continued to work on the BBC's networked snooker coverage until he was dropped from the corporation's broadcast team after the 2017–18 season. He also had stints commentating on snooker for Sky and ITV. Thorne continued to commentate for BBC Wales on their coverage of the Welsh Open in February each year.