Talk:Scrapheap Challenge

False attribution of programme idea
On 20 June 2008 user "Jd0379" changed the attribution of the programme idea, from Eve Kay, to Cathy Rogers, repeating the story that "Cathy Rogers" was inspired by watching Apollo 13. But it was the assistant producer Eve Kay who had the idea after watching Apollo 13. I know, because I was with her, when she said 'that's how we will make the engineering programme' in the cinema foyer, as we were leaving. It was a good story of how inspiration comes, and it was repeated in the production team. A reporter conflated the story of where the inspiration came from with the fact that Cathy was the producer on the show. Of course, the complete development of the programme idea came from many sources within the production team, as most ideas do. But the facts of the case are that the Apollo 13 inspiration was picked up by Eve Kay, and this was the beginning of Scrapheap Challenge.

More to the point, Cathy Rogers herself says that this is the case, and has written to Eve Kay to say so.

(The other idea that put the programme in a Scapheap was Eve's favourite childhood read 'Stig of the Dump'.) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Heartfield01 (talk • contribs) 21:12, 10 September 2009 (UTC)


 * From memory, there was a mention of this in the "10 Years of Scrapheap" programme. I'll have to dig out my copy, but we should have a verifiable source for this information. Bluap (talk) 03:53, 11 September 2009 (UTC)


 * Yes, unfortunately, there are false attributions of the programme idea in print and on the internet. There is a published source that gives the true attribution, which is my chapter 'A business solution for creativity...' in the Policy Exchange book Culture Vultures, (ed. Munira Mirza) London, 2006, p72.


 * On 30 June 2008, Cathy Rogers mailed Eve Kay accepting without equivocation that it was Eve Kay who had the original idea for Scrapheap Challenge, and that the recollection of having the idea after watching Apollo 13 is Eve's not Cathy's.


 * James Heartfield Heartfield01 (talk) 07:22, 11 September 2009 (UTC)


 * P.s. there is another source, Eve Kay's interview in Broadcast 18 June 2009, http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/comment/eve-kay-films-of-record/5002638.article Heartfield01 (talk) 09:45, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Power tools
Would it be interesting/useful to put up a list of tools and machines they are provided with? 86.149.131.69 (talk) 18:04, 11 July 2009 (UTC)

are there any dvds out for this show?--Capsela 14:05, 30 December 2005 (UTC)

International Competition?
I specificaly remember an episode with a Russian team, an American Team and a British team where they had to build an amphibious car. They made a pretty big deal about it, so I don't know why theres nothing about it. It might have been on the Scrapheap Mega Challenge, but I am not sure. Anyone have any information about this? --ThrashedParanoid 01:52, 11 January 2006 (UTC)


 * It was one of the occasional one-off specials (called Scraphead Mega Challenge). Bluap 15:10, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Location of Uk show
" the UK series moved to a new site, within an army training area in Bramley, just outside Basingstoke, Hampshire, and is not open to the public. For Series 8, a new Scrapheap was used, "somewhere in the Hampshire countryside". For series 9 (filming May-June 2006) is again on part of the army site, this time with indoor workshops."

Does anyone have a source for this? only i live right next door to this place and I've never seen any comings or goings related to a TV show, only big helicopters! I thought the show was filmed in Finchampstead (about 8 miles away).--Mbfos 21:08, 7 July 2006 (UTC)

I was the producer for series 9 and the scrapheap sequences were indeed filmed at Bramley. Even when you were on the base it would have been extremely difficult to find and was off limits to the general public. In addition a side entrance to the camp was often used to get vehicles in and out, rather than the more public main gates. John MacnishCirclevision (talk) 14:53, 1 July 2011 (UTC)

Well i think i've answered my own question, look

In the same section; "The next two seasons of both the US and UK series, were filmed in California. The US edition continued to use the Los Angeles site, and for the next 2 series the UK version moved to a new site, a rented part of a scrapyard near Wokingham, Berkshire." Those 2 senteces are contradictory. First actually states that the UK show was filmed in California... Probably at source just sloppy grammar? (I don't know facts sufficient to assume so and correct the grammar though.) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 195.137.90.156 (talk) 18:24, 27 April 2008 (UTC)


 * The meaning should be that for two years, both the UK and the US series were filmed in California.  After these two years, the US editiion continued to use the California site, while the UK edition was filmed in the UK. Bluap (talk) 04:46, 28 April 2008 (UTC)

Lisa Rogers
Is currently expedcting the child of the long haired guy from the team Maximus, Source = from another of Maximus team. 195.93.21.65 20:55, 26 September 2006 (UTC)

I think that would count as a rumour. Any sources? Something like that surely would have made some tabloid somewhere. - Redmess (talk) 11:24, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Source is Rodgers herself as stated on Llewellen's "Carpool". She had two children fathered by this man. This is probably not within the scope of this article, though.llewtube Fehrgo (talk) 09:30, 5 March 2010 (UTC)

Another spoof
Food network's Good eats also made a spoof combining Iron Chef with the US version of Scraphead Challenge called Scrap Iron Chef. Skindrafter

No. "Scrap Iron Chef" was a episode of good eats. And there was only one "scrap iron chef" episode, so it is hardly worth mentioning EvilHom3r 17:12, 7 August 2007 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Scrapheap 07 logo.JPG
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 * Does the current fair use guidelines in the image description follow what this bot is talking about? --The Listener 18:21, 7 August 2007 (UTC)


 * They do, sorry, I put in the rationale, but forgot to score out this message. The Islander 18:31, 7 August 2007 (UTC)

Why the renaming?
Why was it renamed from Scrapheap / Scrapheap Challenge to Junkyard Wars in the US, to the point of mostly blocking out the name on banners and such in the show? --StarChaser Tyger 10:12, 8 August 2007 (UTC)
 * Mostly, I'd have thought, because in America a scrapheap is a junkyard, and most English imports to America are 'Americanised'. The Islander 10:29, 8 August 2007 (UTC)
 * Could be, although I'd say 'some' rather than 'most'...Dr. Who, Red Dwarf, Fawlty Towers, etc. --StarChaser Tyger 11:00, 12 August 2007 (UTC)

because "wars" sounds more exciting to the primordial American mind. it's the same reason the first harry potter book became "the sorcerer's stone" when they took it over the pond. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.4.248.20 (talk) 17:30, 28 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Hey, at least I'm smart enough to not fling mud at my fellow humans just because of where they live :) 64.246.122.202 (talk) 17:30, 28 August 2008 (UTC)

Scrapheap is indeed a British-English word for what Americans know as a junkyard. To us, the term scrapheap would suggest precisely that; a simple pile of loose scrap metal. Surely not the sort of thing you're going to be able to extract anything intact from. Now a junkyard, on the other hand, better describes what is literally a yard full of junk. Hence the change in title. Bullzeye (Ring for Service) 10:36, 17 November 2008 (UTC)


 * 'Junk' and 'scrap' are pretty much interchangeable here - a pile of scrap would be the same as a pile of junk. Talk Islander 11:45, 17 November 2008 (UTC)

guest Diamonds
shouldn't there be a list of the guest team members of Dick's Diamonds involved, I'd have done it myself but I missed the first episode The C of E (talk) 11:26, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

Has Scrapheap Challenge Been Axed?
We are now halfway through series 11 but this weeks tv listings say last in the series and next week it is not being shown. Does this mean that channel 4 has axed it?--Jdbullrat (talk) 13:41, 30 October 2009 (UTC)
 * I certainly hope not! If it has been "axed" then they've probably thought the new style isn't working and so will go back to the old style The C of E (talk) 18:31, 30 October 2009 (UTC)

I hope they go back to the old format... the current one is awful... 81.6.244.121 (talk) 15:39, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

List of Scrapheap Challenge episodes
I have linked in an episodes page I found for scrapeheap. It could do with reformatting and bulking out but it is up to date for series 1-10. I will try and work on this page if I have time but any help would be great. 79.65.194.241 (talk) 19:08, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Eva Kay vs Cathy Rogers
Hi, as a fan of Scrapheap Challenge, I came to this page. Browsing around I found that the only reference cited about the origins says, 'Street Tech: How did you come to create Junkyard Wars? Cathy Rogers: It was after seeing the movie Apollo 13. We loved the scene where Ground Control has to make life-saving devices out of rubbish....''' []

The article says that Eva Kay invented the program mainly by assertions made by other editors. As well, the only reference to the Eva Kay claim is an Error 404; File not found. My understanding of Wikipedia is that it is based 'not on truth, but verifiability'. The only verifiable source is thus the one I mention above that states that Cathy Rogers was the inventor of Scrapheap Challenge. The assertions of editors who say, I was there' does not count. So I have changed the text to Cathy Rogers. If citable references exist that confirm Eva Kay as the inventor, please find, reference them and change the text back. But as it stands, the only verifiable source says Cathy Rogers. Thank-you teams, you have eight hours remaining, eight hours, thank-you! Mondegreen de plume (talk) 09:49, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

Oh, by the way, the asssertion that Eva Kay was the inventor comes from Heartfield01 who says that they were there. The other reference the give in discussion (on the 11th Sept, 2009 in False attribution of programme idea) leads to a subscriber-only page [], so I couldn't verify this. If there are any free and accessible web sources that can solve this question one way or the other, please edit accordingly! Thank-you teams, you have six hours remaining, six hours, thank-you. Mondegreen de plume (talk) 09:59, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

Dear Mondegreen, there really is no doubt that the programme idea was Eve Kay's, since Cathy Rogers herself says so, so with your permission, I will change it back.Heartfield01 (talk) 21:49, 2 January 2011 (UTC)
 * Allow me to weigh in on this. This issue was mentioned in an episode of Scrapheap Challenge here. I hope that can sort out this dispute. The C of E. God Save The Queen! (talk) 09:47, 3 January 2011 (UTC)
 * Here is the email in which Cathy Rogers confirms that it was Eve Kay who had the idea after watching Apollo 13 [[Image:CRogerstoEveKay.JPG|thumb|right|250 px]] Heartfield01 (talk) 10:05, 4 January 2011 (UTC)
 * :: And here is page 72 of the Policy Exchange book Culture Vultures which states that Eve Kay was the originator. [[Image:CultureVulturesP72.JPG|thumb|left|250 px]] Heartfield01 (talk) 10:30, 4 January 2011 (UTC)
 * Not quite how you do that. You include it as a reference and don't include the br bit as I only put that in there to space out my wording. The C of E. God Save The Queen! (talk) 10:46, 4 January 2011 (UTC)
 * Yes that's right. Now you can put it in the article next to Kay's name on the created by section in the infobox (you may have to change the name from Roger's first) The C of E. God Save The Queen! (talk) 10:59, 4 January 2011 (UTC)