Scrapheap Challenge
| Scrapheap Challenge | |
|---|---|
Scrapheap Challenge logo
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| Also known as | 'Junkyard Wars (USA) |
| Genre |
Science Technology Engineering Gameshow |
| Created by | Eve Kay Cathy Rogers |
| Directed by | Jon Ormrod |
| Presented by |
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| Composer(s) | Simon Lacey Graham Reilly |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 11 (UK) |
| No. of episodes | 156 (UK) (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Bill Hobbins Jane Lomas |
| Producer(s) | Cathy Rogers Jon Ormrod Dominic Bowles John Macnish |
| Editor(s) | Mike Kerr |
| Camera setup | Nigel Dupont |
| Running time | 52 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | Channel 4 |
| Original release | 12 April 1998 – 27 June 2010 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Scrapheap Challenge is an engineering game show produced by RDF Media and broadcast on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom. In the show, teams of contestants had 10 hours (around sunset) in which to build a working machine that could do a specific task, using materials available in a scrapheap. The format was exported to the United States, where it was known as Junkyard Wars. The US show was also produced by RDF Media, and was originally shown on The Learning Channel. Repeats have aired on another Discovery network, the Science Channel. A campaign has recently been launched on Facebook and Twitter to try and convince the producers to bring back the series.
A typical episode featured a competition between two 4-person teams, each consisting of three regular members (with one designated the captain), plus an expert in the field related to the particular challenge. The judge for each episode is typically a specialist in (non-scrap) versions of the machine being constructed.
The challenges are many and varied, usually involving teams constructing a machine to achieve a particular objective. The final showdown usually consisted of either head-to-head races or individually run timed events. Examples of challenges included making a jet car, a bridging machine, a car-crusher, and a machine to fling a British Leyland Mini as far as possible.
Assistant producer Eve Kay had the idea for the show after watching a scene in the movie Apollo 13, where NASA engineers had only a short period of time to construct a carbon dioxide filter out of parts available on the space capsule. The show also draws its inspiration from the 1980s TV series The Great Egg Race.
The UK show was originally presented by Robert Llewellyn, joined in series 2-4 by producer Cathy Rogers, and in series 5-10 by Lisa Rogers (no relation). For series 11, both hosts were replaced with former Scrapheap contestant and judge Dick Strawbridge.
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