A QUIZ show king could take on the mantle of word wizard when he appers on TV's Countdown.

But whatever the outcome of rubbing shoulders with Richard Whiteley and Carol Vorderman, Roy Smith, of Winchester Avenue, Great Sankey, has another chance to flex his question muscles.

Fascinated by anagrams and crosswords, the Channel 4 words-and-numbers brainteaser immediately appealed to Roy, who works as a finance manager for NCH Action for Children. He also passed an audition for the radio programme Brain of Britain.

Appearances on the small screen are almost second nature to Roy - he's made seven appearances on the Fifteen-To-One show so far and is set to film another instalment at the start of next month.

He returns as the reigning champion of the programme, having built an unassailable points total in the qualifying rounds in the last series.

Roy said: "Television quiz shows are quite addictive and I am quite interested in how they are put together.

"It takes about three hours to make one 30-minute edition of Fifteen-To-One but Countdown takes virtually the same time to film as goes on the screen.

The quiz veteran admired the smooth professionalism of host Mr Whiteley and was made to feel more than welcome by friendly maths whizz Carol.

Of course Roy has been sworn to secrecy about the outcome of his latest TV foray, which is due to be screened on September 14.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.