Mat Irvine

Mat Irvine
Personal Information
Born	7 July 1948
Years Active	1960s-present
Robot Wars Information
Role	Technical Consultant (UK Series 1-5) Judge (UK Series 5-7, Extreme 1-2, most international versions)
UK Series	1-7, Extreme 1-2
US Series	1-2, Nickelodeon
Dutch Series	2
German Series	1
Predecessor	Myra Wilson (as Judge)
Successor	Sethu Vijayakumar Lucy Rogers (as Judge)

Mat Irvine is a Technical Consultant and Visual Effects designer, who fulfilled this role on the TV show Robot Wars before later being known for his position as one of the Judges towards the end of the original series.

Robot Wars

Along with fellow technical consultant Derek Foxwell, Mat Irvine was involved with the original run of Robot Wars since the show's initial conception. Among his first roles were to supervise the production of, build general interest in, and encourage members of the public to build their own robots for the 1995 UK Open Competition, which served as a proof-of-concept and pilot for the televised series. As revealed in an article written for Robot Wars: The Official Magazine, Irvine would also compete in the pilot with a featherweight-sized robot of his own, which was in fact a 'radio-controlled prop' he had created for another show.

"Mat Irvine, technical consultant to Robot Wars. Me and my colleague Derek Foxwell's job is basically to keep the contestants' robots running... we try to do our damndest to make sure they're gonna run on the day."

— Mat Irvine explains his responsibility as technical consultant for The Second Wars

Upon the televised debut of Robot Wars in early 1998, Irvine served alongside Derek Foxwell as one of the series' Technical Consultants. One of their main responsibilities was to ensure that all robots were operational and complied with the technical regulations that had been set. This extended to performing scrutineering roles and giving advice to competing teams on various issues, including the installation of mandatory safety equipment (such as electrical failsafes) and strategies for succeeding in the various Gauntlet, Trial and Arena events. Irvine was known to be involved with both the main show as well as the qualifiers/auditions of earlier UK series.

Irvine's tenure as Technical Consultant was given additional prominence in the Series 2 spin-off Robot Wars Revealed, where he regularly featured in short segments discussing robots which had progressed to the Heat Final stages and beyond. In these segments, he would briefly assess certain elements of a given robot's design and technology (such as drive systems, weaponry and armour), along with other details including its performances in earlier rounds and the occupational backgrounds of its team members.

Starting with Robot Wars Extreme: Series 1 and the first season of Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors, Irvine became one of the main Judges. In this capacity, he determined the outcome of many UK and international series battles for the remainder of the original run, also making a few notable appearances on screen alongside his colleagues. Among those was an interview in the Series 7 Grand Final, where he commented on Typhoon 2's power after it damaged the arena wall during its Eliminator. Irvine remained as part of the judging panel until Robot Wars entered its hiatus in 2004.

In 2013, Mat Irvine stated in an interview with Stephen McCulla that Robot Wars had 'come to its natural end' after Series 7, adding that a comeback would be unlikely. When Robot Wars was eventually revived in 2016, Irvine had no involvement with any of the three rebooted series.

Mat Irvine and Derek Foxwell, Technical Consultants

Mat Irvine discusses Napalm in a technical segment from Robot Wars Revealed, Episode 1

Mat Irvine inspects would-be Series 5-7 competitor The Alien

Mat Irvine among the Judges in Series 6

Mat Irvine as a Judge

Martin Smith, Noel Sharkey and Mat Irvine (left-to-right)

Outside Robot Wars

K9 Mark IV, operated by Mat Irvine

Prior to his involvement in Robot Wars, Irvine spent much of his early career working for the BBC, including a 23-year stint in the Visual Effects department that would go on to create the show's famous House Robots. During the original series' run, he was also involved in the Mentorn-produced spin-off show Techno Games as a technical consultant for the rocketry events.

Irvine's profession in visual effects also extended to roles in other film and television productions. Perhaps his most famous contributions included behind-the-scenes roles in the long-running BBC sci-fi series Doctor Who, including the 2005 revival plus the spin-off series K-9 and Company and The Sarah Jane Adventures. During this time, Irvine worked as a visual effects assistant and later visual effects designer, creating several props and scale models for various serials, and becoming the sole operator of the robotic dog K9 beginning in 1990.

Alongside the above roles, Irvine is also a hobbyist model maker and freelance writer, writing twelve books of his own on the subject as well as co-writing and consulting several more. He has also contributed to several high-profile model-making magazines such as Scale Models International and FineScale Modeller, and continues to organise talks, video presentations and model exhibitions to this day.

In July 2019, Irvine published his first book titled 'Model Builders' Manual' under the Haynes brand. The book was an in-depth instruction guide for beginners on building plastic models. Irvine is has also published a second book titled 'Model Dioramas Handbook', which will be released in July 2024.

On 1 January, 2024, Irvine appeared in a YouTube video on The British Interplanetary Society channel called 'The Miniature World Of Mat Irvine' which focused on his career in model making.

External Links

• Mat Irvine's online biography (archived 20 December 2014)
• Mat Irvine's website (current)