Dara Ó Briain and Angela Scanlon (pictured) present the new series of Robot Wars, with battles commentated by Jonathan Pearce. This is the first group heat, as eight robot fighting teams battle for a place in the grand final.

Each heat begins with two group battles; the four top teams go into a mini-league. Points are awarded to competitors based on control, damage and aggression with maximum points awarded to competitors who incapacitate their adversary.

This episode features Nuts 2, Jellyfish, Rapid, TMHWK, Sabretooth, Terrorhurtz, Aftershock, and Crank-E.

Presiding over the battles are three judges: Professor Noel Sharkey, Dr Lucy Rogers and Professor Sethu Vijayakumar. In the case of no clear winner they will appoint a winner based on competitors’ control, damage and aggression.

During their fights teams must try to dodge the arena hazards - The Pit, The Spikes, The Flipper and Fire. They also have the four House Robots to deal with: Matilda, Dead Metal, Sir Killalot and Shunt.

This series there’s a menacing new twist. Hitting the Arena Tyre no longer automatically lowers The Pit. It can also activate a mode called Rogue House Robot. This releases a House Robot to attack the competitors for a period of ten seconds, anywhere in the arena.

Let battle commence!

Plank PR