Robot Wars

Robot Wars was a British game show inspired by an American competition of the same name. It aired on BBC Two from 1998 to 2003, with its final series shown on Channel 5 in 2003 and 2004. Additional series were created for international markets, including two seasons of Robot Wars Extreme Warriors featuring U.S. contestants for the TNN network, and two seasons of Dutch Robot Wars for the Netherlands. The fourth season of the UK Robot Wars was broadcast in the United States on TNN as Robot Wars: Grand Champions in 2002, hosted by Joanie Laurer. In 2003, the roboteers formed The Fighting Robot Association and, along with event organizers, continued to participate in competitions for new audiences.

The show featured teams of amateur and professional roboteers who built their own robots to battle each other in both friendly and tournament-style matches. In addition to fighting each other, they had to avoid the “House Robots,” which were not restricted by the same weight or weapon limitations as the competitors. Robot Wars attracted peak audiences of 4 million viewers and was commercially successful through its merchandising efforts.