GWENT quiz show king and former Newport Wasp Phil Morris is eyeing top prizes for speedway after landing a role as the Premiership’s first independent supremo.

Top-flight promoters have turned to the ex-rider, team manager, successful businessman and quiz brainiac to make major changes in the way the sport is run as it roars towards its centenary in 2028.

And Cwmbran’s Morris, who won a small fortune on TV shows, believes he has most of the answers as he starts his new position as the Premiership's CEO, on St David’s Day.

He admits: “I have my own way of doing things and our fans deserve the best. Everything I do will be with entertainment, integrity and transparency at the forefront.”

The 47-year-old was the stand-out choice of the British Speedway Promoters’ Limited board to be the man to spearhead a major campaign to attract new fans to a dynamic sport.

He added: “I’ve already made it clear that I’ve seen some events and incidents over the last few years that I believe we can improve on a lot.

“I want to do my very best to try and lift levels across many different facets of the Premiership, from club officials and regulations to the visual look of the events we’re staging.”

South Wales Argus: Former Newport Wasps rider Phil MorrisFormer Newport Wasps rider Phil Morris (Image: Newsquest)

Morris was an all-round sportsman who was Welsh Schools hurdles champion and played rugby union for East Wales.

He was taken to his first speedway meeting by his parents, who followed Newport Wasps at Somerton Park, when he was only months old and after winning three British schoolboy grass track titles, signed for Reading on his 16th birthday.

He went on to spent 20 years racing for eight different clubs, winning two league titles with Reading, the first when he was only 17.

After retiring at the end of 2009, he took Birmingham to the top of the Elite League standings and was Great Britain Under 21 manager.

He was also a familiar face on TV, appearing in quiz shows Eggheads, Supermarket Sweep, Brainbox, Are You Smarter than a 10 Year Old and Chris Tarrant’s The Colour of Money, using his six figure winnings to take over a long-established sandwich-making business, doubling the annual turn-over to more than £1 million and also increasing staff almost threefold before selling out to become race director of speedway’s Grand Prix series.

He said: “I always seem to have been in the right place at the right time – and fortunately I have usually been successful in whatever I have turned my hand to.

“I’ve been very lucky to work at the highest level of the sport, so my eyes are probably quite focused on good quality levels of the product, and I’ve always said that speedway is a good product.

“We’ve just got to package it right and make sure other things are acceptable along the way, and I’m very much looking forward to getting started.”

BSP Ltd Director Chris Louis said: “Phil is unquestionably the right man for the job. His grounding is in British speedway, he loves British speedway which made him the perfect candidate.

“The Premiership CEO is a new role we all agreed was very much needed and I think the timing is right.

“We want to enhance the professionalism and integrity of the league, as well as making it simple, transparent and fun for the fans to view and understand, and to improve the product and put British speedway back at the top of the tree. Phil can help us do that.”