Blackadder and Time Team star Tony Robinson is to present a new engineering and science-themed show for Yesterday, the advertising funded factual channel owned by the BBC.
Made by Like A Shot Entertainment, Tony Robinson’s Marvellous Machines sees the presenter travel the world in search of innovative and unusual machines taking on epic but essential tasks – including those making airport runways safe for landing, vehicles snatching super yachts out of the water, and a tree-chopping-device faster than twenty lumberjacks.
It will air on Yesterday and the BBC’s ad-funded streaming service UKTV Play later this year.
Both outlets are owned and operated by UKTV, a commercial subsidiary of the BBC which operates a mix of advertising funded channels on Freeview and Freesat and subscription channels available to Sky, Virgin Media and Now customers.
The series is executive produced by Sir Tony Robinson, Like A Shot Entertainment MD Henry Scott and Head of Development Danny O’Brien and directed by James Wright and Tim Clarkson.
Sir Tony Robinson commented: “Humanity has been responsible for truly awesome automation and we’ll be showcasing many of the world’s most spectacular machines through the eyes of those who design, build and operate them.
“This has been a passion project to bring to the screen with the aim to entertain, inspire and fuel up the imagination of viewers of all ages.”
Like A Shot’s Henry Scott added: “Tony Robinson’s mission to meet the most jaw-dropping machinery on the planet makes for an entertaining and accessible new series.
“With access to factories and workshops, and visits to engineering epicentres from NASA to CERN, the series is packed with exciting stunts and titanic challenges, promising a tech-packed treat of majestic and magnificent machinery in motion.”