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"Philip Martin and girlfriend Michelle Wheeley say its structure is its main strength, and main weapon..."
Jonathan Pearce in Series 2

Cruella was a robot that competed in the first two series of Robot Wars, entered by the University of East London. It reached the Arena stage in Series 1, before losing to Robot The Bruce after driving itself onto an arena grille, but was eliminated at the Gauntlet stage in Series 2.

Design[]

"It features computer-controlled regenerative braking and avoids wheelspin with Formula 1-inspired traction control! Cruella weighs in at 81.2 kilograms and boasts a top speed of 15 miles per hour."
— Jonathan Pearce introduces Cruella in Series 1
Cruella

Cruella in Series 1

Cruella was a basic low box-wedged robot powered by a pair of Sinclair C5 motors, giving a high top speed of 15mph, and it initially used its front wedge as its primary weapon, with a second steeper wedge at the back. The team's tactic was to use Cruella's wedge as a high-speed ram, enabling it to get underneath opponents and flip them over. Cruella also utilised go-kart parts, from Martin Smith's time as a Kart racer[1]. In the first Series, it was nearly 2kg over the heavyweight limit.

"Cruella was essentially the same robot as last year but the bodyshell had been totally remade to make it much lighter. As before 2*C5 motors powered 2 go-cart wheels through go-cart gears and chains. The motors were driven from one large 12V battery and then through a wheelchair speed controller. In a futile attempt to avoid the no passive wedge rule a 6" circular saw was attached to the back"
Oliver Steeples comments on the rebuild of Cruella, and the addition of an active weapon[2]
Cruella 2

Cruella in Series 2

For Series 2, Cruella was fitted with a new bodyshell with a larger front wedge and with a flat box section replacing the rear wedge. It also featured a steel chassis, new castors which allowed for an adjustable ground clearance of up to 15mm, and a rear-mounted 6-inch circular saw powered by a windscreen wiper motor from a Ford Granada. However, the weapon motor for the saw was exposed, and was particularly vulnerable to axes and other spinning weapons. The robot was powered by a 12 volt battery.

"The chassis is steel, so's the bodywork. Two Sinclair C5 motors provide the drive..."
— Jonathan Pearce in Series 2

In Series 1, Cruella was painted black with white spots as a further reference to the 101 Dalmatians character, while in Series 2, it was painted blue and red.

Etymology[]

Cruella's name is a reference to the villainess from the film 101 Dalmatians, Cruella de Vil, which also inspired its appearance in Series 1. The name also features the letters UEL, standing for University of East London.

The Team[]

CruellaTeam

The Duellists with Cruella in Series 1

CruellaTeamS2

The team show Cruella's internals in Series 2

Cruella was entered by a team from the University of East London. In Series 1, the team introduced themselves as The Duellists (the team name containing the letters UEL, just like Cruella does), but in Series 2, they were simply billed as the University of East London. It is unknown if the team name was dropped for Series 2 or if they forgot to use it in their introduction.

In Series 1, the team consisted of Philip Martin, Martin Smith and Kanesh Lingham, as well as a fourth uncredited team member. Martin Smith, a former go-kart racer, was responsible for the designing and construction of Cruella, building it in his garage. Kanesh (real name Chelliah Kanesalingam) was a student of Martin's at the university while Philip was a remote control car competitor. Martin met Philip at Maplin Lakeside when he was buying parts for the robot. Philip was working as a work assistant and Martin asked him to be Cruella's driver to which Philip agreed.[3] Martin Smith would later go on to serve as a judge for Robot Wars, beginning in Series 3 and lasting until the end of the show's original run.

A fourth team member was present with the team during Cruella's introduction, but was not listed on the statistics board, and did not appear in the control booth in the Gauntlet or the Arena stage battle.

For Series 2, Philip Martin was joined by Michelle Wheeley, his girlfriend at the time. Michelle had previously been the driver for the stock robot WYSIWYG in Series 1, a robot which coincidentally was in Cruella's Series 1 Heat.

Martin Smith joined the Judges for Series 3, so could no longer enter Cruella, and the other team members did not continue without him.

"I was asked to be a judge for Series 2 so I withdrew Cruella because of potential conflict of interest. My team mates didn't have access to the tools and materials to make another robot so I'm pretty sure they did not build a robot and compete again"
— Martin Smith on the Unofficial Robot Wars Facebook group[4]

Qualification[]

CruellaS2Auditions

Cruella at the Series 2 auditions

For the Series 2 rehearsals, a virtually unchanged Series 1 Cruella attended, with the only new feature being its name written in white on the sides.[5] Cruella originally failed to qualify for Series 2, but got a chance to compete when Medi-Junk withdrew.

Robot History[]

Series 1[]

Cruellagauntlet

Cruella makes its Gauntlet run

Cruella was the first robot to make its Gauntlet run in Heat C, and immediately went for Shunt's route. Shunt blocked it, but Cruella eventually pushed and drove itself free, knocking down two of the skittles before spinning around and getting pushed into a pyramid by Shunt as time ran out. Cruella attained a distance of 10.15m, which was good enough for fourth overall and to allow it to qualify for the Trial stage.

Cruella scores

Cruella scores

The Trial stage was Football, with Cruella facing Robot the Bruce, Wedgehog, Dreadnaut and WYSIWYG to score a goal against Dead Metal and qualify for the Arena stage. Robot the Bruce used its strength and power to score the first goal effortlessly, while Cruella held off a charge from WYSIWYG to steer the ball towards the goal. However, its attempts were blocked by Dreadnaut, which appeared to have broken down, and Wedgehog capitalised by steering the ball and allowing Dead Metal to nudge it in despite Cruella shoving the House Robot into the goal. Cruella made up for this in the third round, steering the ball against the wall before charging it into the goal, with both Dreadnaut and WYSIWYG laying immobile.

"It's the box against the wedge, no weapons on board either."
Jonathan Pearce as the battle against Robot The Bruce begins
Cruella robot the bruce

Robot The Bruce runs up Cruella's wedge

Cruellagrill

Cruella drives onto the grille

Cruella qualified for the Arena stage, where it fought Robot The Bruce. It started reasonably well, using its wedge to get underneath Robot The Bruce twice, but unable to topple it onto its side either time. Robot The Bruce rammed into Cruella as it spun, then pushed it across the arena before riding up its wedge a few more times as it slammed into Cruella several times. Then, without provocation, Cruella turned round and drove straight onto a grille, immobilising itself instantly.

"Oh, that's suicide, surely? What on earth, is Philip Martin doing? He's on the grille, he won't get out from there now!"
— Pearce as Cruella beaches itself

Series 2[]

CruellaS2Gauntlet

Cruella's return to the warzone meets an early end

Cruella returned for Series 2 with a brand new circular saw as its primary weapon, competing in Heat I. However, it did not get a chance to demonstrate this new weapon following its Gauntlet run. Cruella immediately chose the right-hand route, running into the ramrig before easing itself out and getting stuck in it. Sergeant Bash shoved Cruella before it backed away, before Cruella attempted the central route and got intercepted by Matilda and Sir Killalot, with Matilda attacking its bodyshell. Cruella retreated back into the ramrig, getting pinned there by Sir Killalot as he ran up Cruella's wedge and drove it into the saws. 'Cease' was called, with the team visibly disappointed about their run and Cruella only managing to cover a distance of 1.9m, eliminating it from the competition.

Results[]

CRUELLA - RESULTS
Series 1
The First Wars - UK Championship
Heat, Arena Semi-Final
Heat C, Gauntlet 10.15m (4th) Qualified
Heat C, Trial (Football) Scored 3rd Goal (3rd) Qualified
Heat C, Arena Semi-Final vs. Robot The Bruce Lost
Series 2
The Second Wars - UK Championship
Heat, Gauntlet
Heat I, Gauntlet 1.9m (6th) Eliminated

Wins/Losses[]

  • Wins: 0
  • Losses: 1

NOTE: Cruella's Gauntlet and Trial runs are not included

Series Record[]

Series Cruella Series Record
The First Wars Heat, Arena Semi-Final
The Second Wars Heat, Gauntlet
The Third Wars Did not enter
The Fourth Wars Did not enter
The Fifth Wars Did not enter
The Sixth Wars Did not enter
The Seventh Wars Did not enter
Series 8 Did not enter
Series 9 Did not enter
Series 10 Did not enter

NOTE: Martin Smith was involved with Series 3-7 as a Judge.

Gallery[]

Outside Robot Wars[]

Cruella also made an appearance on the CITV show Top 10 of Everything[6]

Following The Second Wars, Martin Smith became a judge for the show and Cruella was subsequently retired from combat. Cruella still remains under Martin's ownership to this day, the robot still in working condition and retaining its old shape but having been repainted silver. However, Martin has planned to restore it to its original colour scheme when he gets the time.[7]

In mid-2021, Martin brought Cruella to a school open day[8]. In June 2023, Smith announced that he was working on restoring the first Cruella back to its original condition, with a view to it being used in demonstrations in the future[9].

Trivia[]

  • Prior to the filming of Series 1, Martin Smith left Cruella with Phillip Martin, who painted the robot metallic green. When Martin Smith returned, he was not happy with the new colour scheme, and repainted it black and white.[10]
  • In both appearances, at least one of Cruella's team members was, or would become, part of the Robot Wars production team:
  • Cruella actually managed to immobilise itself on a grille twice during its Series 1 appearance: once in its battle against Robot The Bruce, and once in its robot introduction.
  • Like its real world inspiration, Cruella is female according to Martin Smith.
  • There is an error on Cruella's statboard for the Second Wars - its weapon is listed as a 6' circular saw, suggesting the saw was 6 feet in diameter instead of 6 inches.

References[]

Navigation[]

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