A North-east team will test their metal as a popular TV show returns this week.

PP3D Robotics, based in Mintlaw, has taken part in the new series of Robot Wars.

Gary Cairns, along with fiancee Sarah Dennis and friend Jamie McHarg, will be involved in the fourth heat of the wars, due to be aired on Sunday, August 14.

Robot Wars returns after a 12-year absence but Gary, originally from Edinburgh, took part in the original series when he was 15 years old.

Speaking of PP3D’s creation, he said: “We got the call and had about two months’ notice to get everything ready. It was a tight schedule to design and manufacture.

“There were some long days and nights in the workshop.”

Gary, who has been in the North-east for the last five years, started his own company PlastiPrint 3D after taking redundancy from BP in 2014.

In charge of manufacturing and design of PP3D, team captain Gary was flanked by wife-to-be Sarah, who took a design and aesthetics role for the team, and Jamie, who worked on the construction of the robot.

Gary, 28, wasn’t able to say what happened during filming of the fourth heat but said he had enjoyed every minute of it.

Gary said: “The house robots are absolutely incredible machines, some of them are 300kg plus.

“Meeting the new presenters like Dara O’Briain was really cool as well.

“There are five heats and we are in the fourth heat which should be on (television on) August 14 . I’m not sure if it will be changed about because of the Olympics but it is taking over the Top Gear slot, which shows how much faith they have in it.

“In the heats there are eight robots which will have a four-way battle, with the top two, or two surviving, going through to the next round.

“Each robot then faces each other with points being given, and the top two would then go through to face each other for the winner of the heat.”

PP3D has a T-shaped chassis with a spinning disc the team claims, on impact, gives out over 20 kilojoules of energy at its tip – that’s enough to propel a 100kg weight 30 metres away from the robot.

The robot weighs 108kg, with the spinning disc weapon sitting one centimetre off the ground and has a top speed of 12mph.