Black Country table tennis ace Roy to star in Amazing Greys

And now TV viewers can watch the veteran back in action as one of the stars of ITV's new Saturday night show Amazing Greys.

He is one of a team of pensioners taking on the 20-somethings in a series of challenges to discover which age group is most talented – with a £10,000 prize up for grabs for the youngsters if they can overcome their elders.

Roy, who has won medals at both the European and World Veterans' Table Tennis Championships in recent years, was chosen to be part of ITV's team of resident experts after the broadcaster contacted him in his capacity as chairman of the Veterans English Table Tennis Society (VETTS).

"They wanted somebody who has got some kind of a record in table tennis and somebody with a bit of character," he said. "They came to see me play and I fitted the bill.

"Other people say I'm a pensioner but even at 72 that doesn't ring a bell with me. I'm still very enthusiastic, I still play twice a week in the first division of the Walsall and Wolverhampton leagues. I play every weekend and I travel abroad a lot.

"I retired 16 years ago and I've taken nearly 400 flights since then to play table tennis."

That includes to Hohhot in China, where he won bronze in the men's doubles alongside Brian Hill in the World Veterans' Championships in 2010. He will also be flying out to Auckland in New Zealand next month to play.

Among his other achievements are representing the UK deaf team in 2012, alongside team-mates who were all in their 20s, and winning silver in the over-70s doubles category in the European Veterans' Championships in Bremen last year, alongside Emanuele Rame of Italy.

Those experiences have stood him in good stead for the show, which is presented by Paddy McGuinness and Angela Rippon.

Roy, who lives in Birmingham, appears in two episodes – tonight and May 3.

He said: "They've adapted games to even it up because if you take somebody off the street, even if they're sporty, they shouldn't be able to beat someone who's good at sport. They've tried to even it up to make it interesting.

"It's not an actual game of table tennis we play, it's a challenge which involves hitting a target area. I play a woman on one occasion and a man on the other, both in their 20s."

Amazing Greys is on ITV at 8.20pm on Saturday.