- "Good, fun team, this!"
- — Jonathan Pearce in Series 6
Team KaterKiller was a team from Surrey who fought in Series 3-7 of Robot Wars, also entering the second series of Extreme. The team sometimes referred to themselves on screen as Team Kat, not to be confused with with Cold Fusion Team under Stuart Barnwell in Series 7.
The team was notable in being one of the earliest female-dominated teams, alongside Dartford Girls Grammar. They also won the Sportsmanship Award in Series 6.
The Team[]
Keith Williams[]
- "The creatures in my head that tell me to burn things"
- — Keith Williams on his pets[1]
The original Team KaterKiller
Keith Williams was the Captain of Kater Killer and the founder of the team. He was an electrical engineer, inspired to enter Robot Wars after watching Robot Wars: The Second Wars, and subsequently spent three months building the robot alone in his workshop.[2] He was assisted in this build by his girlfriend Georje and his work colleagues, who contributed "gifts" to assist with the building. Keith Williams added the mouth of Kater Killer after Georje Reed painted it. In Series 3, Jonathan Pearce noted that Williams wanted to be a computer game tester.
Williams introduced his robot in Series 3 and also drove it in battle. As the team's sole builder, he was constantly pressured to meet the deadlines, such as repairing Kat 3 after its successful qualifier for Series 5 where it was trashed by Fluffy.
Williams listed his favourite robot as Sir Killalot, and said that the Killerhurtz website was his favourite. He also listed Peter Gibson as his hero. Keith Williams jokingly claimed that the best part of Robot Wars was "the chicks and the money" but the worst was having no life. [3]
Keith Williams was present for every series, save for Extreme 2 and Nickelodeon where he sat out of the Iron Maidens tournament and the International Tag Team competition, where the team captain was required to be a woman or a child in each respective event.
Georje Williams and Julie-Ann Williams[]
- "Just fire the weapon as many times as possible!"
- — Georje Williams
Craig Charles interviews the elated team
Georje Reed (pronounced "Georgie", later Georje Williams in Series 7 upon her marriage to Keith) was an unofficial member of the team during Series 3, where she painted the original Kater Killer the night before filming took place. At the time of Robot Wars, she described her job as "something in education".[4] She joined the team properly in Series 4, where alongside Julie-Ann Williams (Keith's sister and an IT consultant) she imitated a cat pawing at the machine while Keith Williams was interviewed. The act was dropped after the loss to Tornado and Gemini, where Georje briefly spoke with Julia Reed, but it was still seen in later wars during pre-battle interviews.
Team KaterKiller from Series 5 onwards
On the Kater Killer website, Georje Williams noted the best part of Robot Wars was being a "girlie" among all the men, but the worst part was coming home smelling of oil and robots. [5] She also said that her favourite robot (besides Kat 3) was Firestorm. Julie-Ann Williams said that the best thing about Robot Wars was engaging parts of her brain she did not normally use, but the worst was seeing their robots destroyed. Her favourite robot besides Kat 3 was Tornado.[6]
Julie-Ann Williams inspects damage made to Kat 3
In Series 5, Julie-Ann and Georje were noticeably excited by the victory over Mini Morg, jumping up and down with such excitement that Craig Charles later joked that the entire scaffolding was shaking. Georje and Julie-Ann would both later post on the Kater Killer website that this was their best memory of Robot Wars.[7]
The team with Hazel Heslop for the Iron Maidens tournament
Georje Reed captained Kat 3 during Extreme 2, as their sole appearance was during the women's tournament Iron Maidens. She and Philippa Forrester discussed a bet on in the Pit as to whether she would be sick in the control booth from nerves, even after the first successful fight. Julie-Ann Williams operated the axe.
Geoff Hill[]
Geoff Hill was a friend of Keith Williams and one of the two original team members, assisting in the construction of Kater Killer. He was specifically singled out, along with Peter Gibson of Wheelosaurus, as being instrumental for the team and robot getting off the ground. Hill retired after Series 3. He worked part time in an all girls school outside of Guildford.
Other team members[]
Team KaterKiller in Nickelodeon Robot Wars
Jade Spaven was intended to be a member of Series 4, but could not attend due to a family holiday. She later joined the team for Nickelodeon Robot Wars, alongside Ian Inglis of Team EyeEye. This was because the Nickelodeon series required robots to be driven by children.
Hazel Heslop from Team Firestorm also joined the team in Extreme 2, where the team wanted a third female team member.
- "We needed a third female team member...as we got on so well with them we asked, she was a very good team member!"
- — Georje Williams on Hazel Heslop
The team website also listed Harvey moo-moo, the team's dog, as a team member who was unable to attend filming.
Trademarks[]
Team KaterKiller in Series 4
Team KaterKiller wear tiger-skin trousers
- "There we go, big on the skirts, big on the nails, forgive me we're not going technical now, what else have you got? Nice collar there, big on the ears ... and the robot's not so bad either!"
- — Philippa Forrester in the first round interview in Series 6
From Series 4 onwards, Team KaterKiller dressed wearing things to match their robot’s cat theme, such as fluffy ears, fluffy tails and cat collars. A tail was added to the Series 4 version of KaterKiller, which was lent to Sir Killalot after their defeat, and Sir Killalot can be seen with it on the rear in various fights during Series 4. From Series 5 onwards, Keith wore tiger skin patterned trousers, while Georje and Julie-Ann wore tiger skin patterned skirts or leggings. In Series 6, Georje wore temporary tattoos, a cat's collar and a tiger print mini skirt.
Robots[]
| Name | Weight Class | Series |
|---|---|---|
| Kater Killer | Heavyweight | Series 3-4 |
| Kat 3 | Heavyweight | Series 5-7, Extreme 2, US Season 2, Nickelodeon |
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 8
- Losses: 10
NOTE: This includes Bigger Brother's victory over Zanzara as a win for Kat 3
Series Record[]
UK Series[]
| Main Series | Team KaterKiller Series Record |
|---|---|
| The First Wars | Did not enter |
| The Second Wars | Did not enter |
| The Third Wars | Heat, Round 1 with Kater Killer |
| The Fourth Wars | Heat, Round 1 with Kater Killer |
| The Fifth Wars | Heat Final with Kat 3 |
| The Sixth Wars | Heat, Round 2 with Kat 3 |
| The Seventh Wars | Heat Final with Kat 3 |
| Series 8 | Did not enter |
| Series 9 | Did not enter |
| Series 10 | Did not enter |
| Robot Wars Extreme | Appearances |
| Series 1 | Did not enter |
| Series 2 | Entered with Kat 3 |
US Series[]
| US Series | Team KaterKiller Series Record |
|---|---|
| Season 1 | Did not enter |
| Season 2 | International Championship, Round 1 with Kat 3 |
| Nickelodeon | International Tag Team, Third Place with Kat 3 |
Outside Robot Wars[]
Kat's Whiskers at Techno Games 2002
Kat's Whiskers and Snowstorm in 2003
Team KaterKiller also competed in Robot Wars' sister show Techno Games with two weaponless versions of Kat 3 machines, under the name Kat's Whiskers. It entered in the football event alongside Team Firestorm's Snowstorm, a white and blue weaponless version of the team's heavyweight. Together, they finished second in the 2002 tournament with a weaponless Series 5 model of Kat 3. In the 2003 football tournament, the Series 6 model of Kat 3 was entered, now painted white and blue to match Snowstorm, but fell in the first round.
Trivia[]
- Team KaterKiller and Bulldog Breed fought in the same Heat of the main competition in the Third, Sixth and Seventh Wars. They also fell at the same stage in the Third and Sixth Wars, losing in the first and second round respectively, even being in the same first-round melee in the Sixth Wars. The two met in the Heat Final of the Seventh Wars, with Bulldog Breed being the victor.
- During the All-Stars tournament, Georje Williams remarked to Craig Charles that she thought they had used up all "nine lives" during their five war campaign. This is not far from the truth - the subsequent battle against Pussycat was Team KaterKiller's eighth UK loss, putting Team KaterKiller on its ninth and final life by the show's end.
Honours[]
References[]
External Links[]
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