Robot Wars (TV series)
| Robot Wars | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Robot Wars Extreme |
| Genre | Robot competition |
| Created by | Tom Gutteridge Stephen Carsey |
| Presented by | Jeremy Clarkson Craig Charles Dara Ó Briain Angela Scanlon |
| Starring | Philippa Forrester Julia Reed Jayne Middlemiss |
| Judges | Noel Sharkey Eric Dickinson Adam Harper Martin Smith Myra Wilson Mat Irvine Sethu Vijayakumar Lucy Rogers |
| Narrated by | Jonathan Pearce |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 9 (Original) 3 (Revival) 12 (Overall) |
| No. of episodes | 155 (Original) 22 (Revival) 177 (Overall) |
| Production | |
| Production locations | London Docklands (1998–1999) Elstree Studios (1999–2000; 2001–2002) Park Street Studios (2000–2001) RAF Newton (2002–2004) Westway Park (2016–2018) |
| Running time | 30 minutes (1998–1999) 45 minutes (1999–2003) 60 minutes (2003–2018) |
| Production companies | TV21 (1998–2001) Mentorn International (2001–2002) Mentorn (2002–18) |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC Two BBC One (2000, one episode) |
| Release | 20 February 1998 – 28 March 2004 |
| Release | 24 July 2016 – 7 January 2018 |
| Network | BBC Choice |
| Release | 8 October 2001 – 7 February 2003 |
| Network | Five |
| Release | 2 November 2002 – 28 March 2004 |
Robot Wars is a British robot combat television series that aired from 1998 to 2004 and was revived from 2016 to 2018. The show features teams controlling remote-operated robots in battles within an arena filled with hazards and powerful "House Robots."
The original run aired on BBC Two, later moving to Channel 5, with spin-offs like Robot Wars Extreme. Hosts included Jeremy Clarkson, Craig Charles, Dara Ó Briain, and Angela Scanlon, with Jonathan Pearce as the announcer throughout.
At its peak, Robot Wars attracted six million UK viewers and became a global success, airing in 45 countries. It also inspired live events and a successful toy range. Its merchandising was commercially successful, being one of the best-selling toy ranges of 2002.
The show also inspired live events, with The Fighting Robot Association founded in 2003 and Roaming Robots acquiring the brand rights in 2013. Live shows continued under the name Extreme Robots from 2017 onward.