Mentorn is a British television production company that was the main production company for Robot Wars across its entire run, including the international and reboot series. A subsidary branch of Mentorn, known as TV21, served as the production company for Series 1-4, before the Mentorn group itself took over for Extreme 1 up until the end of the show's original run. When Robot Wars returned in 2016, Mentorn would also return as the production company behind it, under the branch of Mentorn Scotland.
History[]
Mentorn was founded in 1985 by Tom Gutteridge, originally under the name Mentorn Films. One of their first productions was a documentary for BBC One called The Golden Gong. Three years later in 1988, Gutteridge would produce and direct the documentary I Drew Roger Rabbit for ITV about animator Richard Williams. The documentary would win International Emmy award for Best Arts Documentary the following year in 1989. Over the next few years, Mentorn would produce programmes for both ITV and BBC, some of which were highly successful and others that won awards.
In 1995, Stephen Carsey joined Mentorn and that same year, he and Gutteridge created the Robot Wars concept, which was based on the original American competition.
In 1996, Mentorn would purchase documentary production company Barraclough Carey, which would expand the group to Mentorn Barraclough Carey.
Tom Gutteridge would sell Mentorn to The Television Corporation in 2000, during the run of Robot Wars, and remained with the group until he moved to the United States in 2003. Then in 2006, Welsh production group Tinopolis would in turn purchase The Television Corporation and with it, Mentorn.
Since before and after Gutteridge's departure, Mentorn has become the largest independent production company in the UK. Some of the company's other high-profile television shows include Question Time, Traffic Cops and An Idiot Abroad, with these programmes being produced for other mainstream television stations such as Sky and Channel 5. Mentorn has been owned by Tinopolis ever since then, with its offices in London and Glasgow still producing successful programmes to this day.
Robot Wars[]
Original Series[]
TV21 logo as seen at the end of every Robot Wars episode until Series 4
One of Mentorn's branches, TV21, was the production company for Robot Wars from its debut series up until Series 4. Tom Gutteridge and Stephen Carsey were still the lead producers due TV21 being a part of the Mentorn corporation. The TV21 logo would be seen at the end of every Robot Wars episode until Series 4. The TV21 branch would be shortlived, as it would only last for six years after having been opened in 1996 and closing in 2002, at which point Mentorn itself took on Robot Wars from Extreme 1 all the way until the end at Series 7, even when the show moved stations from BBC to Five.
Reboot Series[]
Mentorn Scotland logo from the end credits of the rebooted series
Having been acquired by the Tinopolis company in 2006, Mentorn Scotland took on Robot Wars for its rebooted series, its office having been opened in 2002, with the filming taking place in Glasgow, the location of the company's office. Like the original series, the Mentorn Scotland logo would be seen at the end of every episode of the rebooted series, but unlike the original series however, Mentorn Scotland produced all three rebooted series without passing it on to another branch, as the original series had made the jump from TV21 to the Mentorn group in 2002, and all three rebooted series were aired on BBC, without it changing channels.
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