BBC2 reboots classic gameshow Robot Wars
Robotic fighting gameshow Robot Wars is being rebooted in a “bullet-proof” arena by Mentorn Scotland for BBC2 and will return to screens later this year.
The show is shot in front of a live audience, with contestants of the gameshow building amateur robots which fight each other in a knock-out competition.
Craig Charles presented the original show, which ran on the BBC between1998 and 2001. It was briefly moved to BBC Choice before being picked up by Channel 5 for a final series in 2003. The presenter of the rebooted show is yet to be announced.
The show will return as a series of six hour-long episodes and will supposedly feature more robots, battles and science.
The show will be filmed in a "literally bullet-proof" purpose-build arena in Glasgow, with state-of-the-art cameras bringing the audience closer to the robots, says Alan Tyler, acting controller of entertainment. He said the redeveloped Robot Wars proved compelling, offering a mix of "real people, real passion and raw power".
The reboot was commissioned by BBC2 and BBC4 controller Kim Shillinglaw, acting controller of entertainment Alan Tyler and BBC daytime and nations commissioning editor Jo Street.
Tyler claime he received numerous robot pitches for new shows but the redevelopment of Robot Wars had proved to be the best.
The show is produced in association with SJP Media, and will be executive produced by Tinopolis creative director of entertainment Chris Brogden, Mentorn Scotland’s Andrew Robertson and the BBC’s Street.
Brogden said the show "promises to be quite the competition, [featuring] new and improved robots, with extraordinary innovation and power in these updated machines".
Shillinglaw described Robot Wars as "an absolute TV classic" and a "fantastic example of the kind of content-rich factual entertainment that BBC2 excels at".