IN NUMBERS: Robot Wars

As the revamped series, hosted by Dara O Briain, comes to a close tonight (8pm, BBC2), we look back over some facts and figures about this long-running scrapheap scrapfest… 4 The number of channels the show has aired on since it launched in 1998. It began on BBC2, with Jeremy Clarkson as the first host, replaced by popular Craig Charles (1) from series two. It moved to BBC1 for a 2000 celeb special, then to BBC Choice (2001-03), and then to Channel 5 (2003-04). 5 The number of series with Philippa Forrester

(2) as pit reporter (Angela Scanlon’s role here). Commentator Jonathan Pearce has appeared in all seven original series, two runs of Robot Wars Extreme, plus the 2016 reboot. 2 The number of people it takes to operate each of the 2016 house robots: Sir Killalot, Matilda, Shunt and Dead Metal. Upgrades of the originals, they need one person to work the weapons and one to control the whole robot’s movements. 10 The number of days it took to build the original Sir Killalot. He made his debut in series two, and was so popular that the radio-controlled toy Sir Killalot was the most expensive of the range – it cost a whopping £89.99. £40,000 The value of the materials that went into Mortis (3), the original show’s most costly robot. But money couldn’t buy success – Mortis never made a final in his four series on the show.

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