Scrapheap Challenge is a British television show where teams of contestants build a working machine that can perform a specific task, using materials available in a scrapyard. The series features teams of four or five members who are given ten hours (based around sunset) to build vehicles or machines to complete a specific task, such as a trebuchet, or complete a racecourse whilst acting as a gyroscope. The programme ran for eleven series and was originally shown on Channel 4. The format was exported to the United States, where it was known as Junkyard Wars. The American 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 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 drew its inspiration from the 1980s TV series The Great Egg Race.
Unfortunately some episodes are blocked in the UK
Season 4 - Episode 1
Season 6 - Episodes 7-12
Season 7 - All Episodes
You could use a VPN to get around this.
