Review

by Huw Fullerton

Roboteers, stand by. After 12 years off screen late 90s/early noughties mechanical fighting league Robot Wars is returning to BBC2, and while all the familiar elements are still there – House Robots, battles in the arena, awkward interviews backstage – there are also a lot of changes.Presenters Craig Charles and Phillippa Forrester are out in favour of Dara O Briain and Angela Scanlon, the House Robots have been upgraded and cut down in number and the battles are noticeably more eventful, thanks to advances in engineering in the last decade that have allowed the robots to pack in more power and cut down on their weight.Not that a few old favourites don’t try their luck, of course – in fact a couple of old robot champions are dusted off for this opening episode – but it’s safe to say they’ll find the arena a much deadlier place than they remember…