JOE meets Angela Scanlon, the new presenter of Robot Wars

The new series of the show premieres on Sunday, July 24 on BBC…

If you have a pulse, the chances are you’re a fan of the old Robot Wars presented by Craig Charles alongside each of Philippa Forrester, Julia Reed and Jayne Middlemiss.

The series left our screens back in 2004 but this year it’s been revived and it will have a strong Irish representation with Dara O’Briain and Angela Scanlon presenting the new series.

We were lucky enough to catch up with Angela Scanlon ahead of the premiere on Sunday evening and she was hugely excited to see the debut of the series finally arriving.

The series kicks off at 8.00pm on Sunday evening on BBC Two.

JOE: Hi Angela, we’ll start by clearing up a horrible rumour we heard doing the rounds. We’ve heard reports that there will be no leather jackets in this series? Say it ain’t so!

Angela Scanlon: I can confirm that rumour. I would pay money to see Dara O’Brian in a floor length leather trench coat. Maybe he’ll do it at one of his gigs!

It was a deliberate move [to leave out the leather jackets], leather feels a bit more motorbikey. I went with mechanics overalls for this series.

JOE: That’s very disappointing. So were you a fan of Robot Wars growing up?

AS: I would have seen it in later years, I was one of four girls and I just don’t know whether back in the ’90s, we were probably watching RTE not BBC. So I was aware of the show but would have been exposed to it more later on through reruns than the original run.

Even if you think you’re a fan, when you meet these guys, they’ve got an encyclopaedic knowledge of the robots. Every single robot that was part of every single series, what round they got knocked out in, who they went up against. They have statistics that don’t even exist on paper!

So even if you think you’re a fan, you’re really not.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BIIeOmVAYUL/?taken-by=angelascanlon

JOE: Are there any robots in this series that fans of the old show will recognise?

AS: There are quite a few new and improved robots. Razor is back, a lot of people will be familiar with Razor. There’s some that are different versions of older robots, I’m not sure if I’m allowed say but, Behemoth is back.

Then there’s the house robots. Sir Killalot is monstrous, he’s 741kg and moves at 10mph, that used to be 5mph. He’s not a rocket but he doesn’t need to be when he’s the size of a small minibus. He’s just fiercesome with a rotating drill lance and jaws that open up.

Video via henaz999’s YouTube

He needs a forklift to get anywhere, he travels with an entourage now, so it’s a bit awkward getting him in and out of places. Everyone is just shocked by the size of them. Obviously perspective is difficult when you’re dealing with imagery but when you see them in the arena against the competitors, the competitors are minuscule by comparison.

JOE: I’ve always wondered, is it awkward talking to people after the battles after the house robots have potentially destroyed their robots?

AS: A couple of people were a bit pissed off, and there were a few tears also, but mostly the teams actually really enjoy it. It’s fair fighting and they’re OK with that, they’re respectful. If a house robot can do them in, they give a nod to that. This time round the competitor robots have a go at the house robots with some success as well, it’s very sneaky.

Basically they’re in a battle and they don’t care about the competitor they’re going after the house robots. There’s a few of them who have really enjoyed the pageantry of it all and the theatrics and that shouldn’t be underestimated. Obviously there;s been massive technological advances, we’re now in a bullet proof box to save our lives and the lives of everybody viewing the show.

JOE: So what was it like working with Dara O’Briain? Had you worked with him before?

AS: I had never met Dara before, I’d been to his gigs before with my sister. He’s brilliant, I’d been a big fan of his already and we filmed the show in front of a live audience which can be quite daunting when you’re coming down into this enormous warehouse in Glasgow with people chanting and shouting.

He’s a steadying force in that sense because he works in arenas day in and day out and that’s where he gets his kicks so he wasn’t all overwhelmed by that.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BIHlAVlgOAs/?taken-by=angelascanlon

JOE: What would your ideal robot be like if you could make one?

AS: My ideal robot would have legs that are relatively short (better in heels!) and would have an enormous fabric covered head that would light up when it’s under pressure. It would have an axe… no two axes that are interchangeable, depending on the opponent.

You have to size up your opponent and then create a fight strategy that works. it’s about fighting smart not hard so I think a flame head might be distracting but also theatrical. But then the axe comes out and it’s history.

JOE: Interesting, and what would you call this robot?

AS: Scanlonator!

JOE: Final question, if you could be part-human, part-robot, what part of you would you make a robot?

AS: It would be the legs, a lot of the robots have wheels, so I could fly around on wheels but also self-right if I fall over. The self-righting mechanism is key to that!

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