Sir Killalot (known in the Nickelodeon series as Sir K. and often otherwise shortened to Killalot) was a house robot designed to look like a medieval knight, with his name being a pun on Sir Lancelot. Sir Killalot was armed with a rotating drill and a hydraulic cutting claw, adapted from the cutting jaws which rescue services normally use to save trapped victims from car crashes. It took 10 days to build Sir Killalot and he was still being finished as he was being pushed into the van to go down to the studio.
The hydraulics were adapted and refined to give a much faster cutting speed. Sir Killalot also sported caterpillar tracks instead of wheels. The claw was quite capable of lifting over 100 kg (220 lb) of weight, slicing through armour plating, and cutting the axles of opposing robots in two with a force of 15 tonnes.
Sir Killalot was introduced to the show in 1998 at the beginning of Series 2. His description boasted that he had "no weaknesses", though contestant robots have been seen knocking his armour off and setting him on fire throughout his history. Sir Killalot was often seen as the 'leader' of the House Robots and would often pick up contestant robots on his lance or with his claw, spin around with it before dropping it into a pit or over the arena wall. Until Mr Psycho debuted in Series 6, Sir Killalot was by far the heaviest House Robot at over 500 kilos although his weight was commonly stated as only 280 kilos.
Following the announcement of the 2016 reboot of Robot Wars, BBC Two have been using Sir Killalot in new promotional media such as tweets and Facebook posts. Dara Ó Briain had confirmed that Sir Killalot should return "bigger and better". Sir Killalot later appeared in the fourth teaser.
When the new Sir Killalot was publicly revealed, a new "Space Marine" inspired design was seen, using LEDs and with a grungier face. Closer inspection reveals that his original chest plate is still present however, surrounded by new armour panels. Killalot is now even heavier, close to the weight of Mr. Psycho at 741kg. He features Armox armour, and is heavily upgraded internally, being capable of much higher speeds, boasting larger claws that open 700mm wide with 2.5 tonnes of crush, and greater lifting power of up to 300kg. He still retains a blue paint scheme, although it sometimes appears to be black due to arena lighting.
Armament
Upon Sir Killalot’s introduction to Robot Wars, his right arm had no drill. Instead the arm consisted of a steel rod with spikes attached. This could however, like the later drilling lance, pick up contestant robots and move them about the arena. The back exoskeleton was also fitted differently. It appeared to have been fit closer to the internal workings and on more of a slant. Sir Killalot also had white eyes during the second series.
For Series 3 Sir Killalot was fitted with his famous drilling lance. Although it didn’t really have the capability to literally drill through robots, it was more effective when it came to picking them up. The back exoskeleton was also mounted differently and his shoulder pads were removed in the hope of giving his arms better movement. The colour of his eyes were also changed to red. This red look was achieved by what looked to be three small lights in both eyes.
For Series 4 a pair of huge crushing pincers, nicknamed the "jaws of life", very similar to the ones used to rescue people from car wrecks, were mounted on his left arm. These replaced the smaller jaws, similar to the ones mounted on Sergeant Bash during Series 3. Throughout the rest of Robot Wars the jaws would be modified several times. The most noted modification allowed the jaws to open wider. His shoulder pads also returned for series 4. This was due to the basic fact that people thought he looked better with them. They would be used throughout the rest of Robot Wars.
During the later series, contestant robots became better armoured and the jaws didn’t seem to do much damage. They were however excellent at picking them up and it was in this that Sir Killalot devised his spin trick. Upon grabbing a robot he would lift them and move into the centre of the arena and begin to spin. Once up to speed the jaws would be released and the contestant robot would fly off, hitting whatever was in its way.
Robot History
Series 2
This was Sir Killalot's debut series, and for the only time in his career he had white eyes. To demonstrate his power, before the gauntlet Craig Charles held up a metal bar, and Killalot cut straight through it. During Groundhog's gauntlet run in the heats of Series 2, Sir Killalot picked Groundhog up and hoisted it into the air. In doing so, Killalot was left off-balance, and toppled over.
Sir Killalot's petrol-driven engine proved to be a hindrance. This was mainly due to its ability to catch fire. During Robo Doc's gauntlet run, Sergeant Bash accidentally set Killalot on fire with his flamethrower. He did have trouble with other competitors though. In the first Semi-Final, during the Trial round of Mortis, Sir Killalot reversed into the pit. According to the producers, it took six men to lift him out afterwards. The controversy surrounding this incident was that he reversed into the pit on purpose, trying to win extra points for Mortis.
One of his better moments this series happened in the heats. During a Heat Semi-Final battle, Sir Killalot cut the shell off of Flirty Skirty with his lance, before parading the remains of it around the arena. He also sliced through the forklift bar on Dreadnaut after the competitor failed to move in the arena due to the power switch falling out.
Series 3
Series 3/4 appearance
Sir Killalot, like the other house robots at the time, received improvements this series. His eyes were now red, instead of white, and his steel rod gave way to his infamous lance. His shoulder pads were removed in the hope that they would give the arms more room to move. At the start of the series, Sir Killalot once again cut through a new metal bar that Craig Charles was holding.
Sir Killalot was once again hot under his collar. During a battle between Robopig and Napalm, Killalot carried the defeated Robopig machine over to the flame pit, but caught fire himself. Bash also accidentally set Killalot on fire again during the Pinball Warrior Tournament, during the run by Oblivion, after the competitor was immobilised.
Series 4
Killalot returned with a larger crushing claw, nicknamed the "Jaws of Life", as they were the kind used by the emergency services to cut people out of crashed cars. As the leader, Sir Killalot was often the robot that roboteers took their grievances out on. One such instance was Roger Plant's Wheely Big Cheese. The Big Cheese had been "grilled" by Killalot over the flame pit in a previous series, and Plant and his team were out for revenge from the start. However, despite the incredible power of Wheely Big Cheese's flipper, they were unable to lift Killalot. Many a roboteer would boast that they could flip Sir Killalot, but in the show's history, no-one ever achieved this. As a result of this, Sir Killalot was the only house robot in the show's history that was never flipped.
Sir Killalot once accidentally attacked a house robot. During the melee between 20th seeds Aggrobot 2, Oblivion 2 and Saw Point, he went to attack Oblivion 2, but instead pulled Matilda's left wheel off, leaving her only able to go around in circles. During Panic Attack's fight with Spawn of Scutter, Sir Killalot's hydraulic pipe leaked all over the arena, rendering it immobile and the arena floor slippery.
Extreme 1
Series 4 onwards
With competitors' armour generally getting stronger, Sir Killalot's jaws never did as much damage as he had in his debut series. He did develop his spin trick, whereby he would spin a competitor on his lance, before finally letting it go, hitting anything in its way. In the one-off Featherweight battle this series, he trampled on Beef Cake after RC Warrior was finished off. Beef Cake was left as flat as a pancake in the end, but it still won the battle. Sir Killalot once again was involved with controversy. During a Wild Card Warriors battle between Stinger and Ajjay, the former strayed near Sir Killalot's CPZ. Sir Killalot plucked Stinger off the ground, paraded it around the arena and dropped it over the arena wall just after "cease" was called. The judges ignored this, as the house robot was bang out of order, and since Stinger's mace gave the axlebot numerous aggression points, the judges awarded it the win. The post-fight banter revealed that the Stinger team believed that "Killalot had something against them" as their robot was set upon by Sir Killalot in their vengeance match with Tornado. Sir Killalot also caught fire in the All-Stars Quarter Final between Tornado and Pussycat.
Series 5
Sir Killalot continued grabbing his opponents and then dropping them out of the arena. During Gemini's battle with Ruf Ruf Dougal, Gemini removed Dougal's power key, before proceeding to flip it over. Sir Killalot plucked Dougal off the ground before dropping it out of the arena.
Another notable Series 5 moment happened in the Heat I final between Bigger Brother and 3 Stegs to Heaven. At the end of the battle, with 3 Stegs immobilised and counted out, Bigger Brother started attacking Sir Killalot. This ultimately ended with 3 Stegs to Heaven, Bigger Brother and eventually Sir Killalot in the pit, however the latter managed to escape.
Series 6
Sir Killalot returned mostly unchanged for Series 6, but once again his claws had been redesigned, and would remain the same for the rest of his run. During a First Round Melee, Sir Killalot was able to cause major damage to W.A.S.P. with his lance, drilling through the robot's armour and causing major internal damage.
During the second First Round Melee of Heat H, after looking conspicuously loose earlier in the fight, Sir Killalot's breast plate fell off as he reversed into a CPZ.
In the UK vs Germany special, Sir Killalot lifted up the shufflebot Ansgar's Revenge and dragged it along the floor. When it was plucked again, time ran out, meaning it couldn't go in the pit. The resulting judges' decision clearly went in favour of Das Gepäck.
Extreme 2
By now, robot armour was very strong in most cases, so the Jaws of Life could merely pluck other robots. Killalot span around with the defeated Niterider in the New Blood Championship. Even though he toppled over he was able to fall back onto his tracks.
Later on in the New Blood Championship, he grabbed Cedric Slammer with his lance and barbecued it on the flame pit. His breast plate also came off in the battle between Cedric Slammer and Fatal Traction.
Series 7
Sir Killalot, like the other returning House Robots, didn't receive many noticeable improvements. He was involved in several notable moments during the series however. In the first Featherweight qualifier, which was Heat B's Special Event, he trampled on Mini Maul, annihilating it. This led certain fans to believe that the producers thought it was funny for one of the three House Robots in the arena to trample the tiny robots, which could only weigh up to 12 kg.
During the semi-final of Heat D, during the battle between Gravity and 13 Black, Sir Killalot was lifted up by Gravity's flipper while chasing 13 Black into his CPZ. This is the closest Killalot has come to being flipped. He was also nearly flipped by Iron-Awe 2.1 later in the series.
During the Heat I round 1 in a fight with Supernova, Storm 2, Rhino and Mayhem, Storm 2 pushed Supernova into one of Sir Killalot's tracks and it snapped. In Iron-Awe 2.1's first round battle, the red lenses for Sir Killalot's eyes fell out. In the playoff match between Tornado and X-Terminator, a mix-up between house robots Killalot and Matilda saw Matilda's flywheel accidentally damage Killalot's hydraulic arm, so hydraulic fluid spilled all over the arena.
2016 Series
Sir Killalot was first unofficially confirmed by Dara Ó Briain over Twitter, calling him 'bigger and better' and 'on steroids'. It wasn't until the 24th February when the teaser for Sir Killalot appeared. Like the other returning House Robots, Sir Killalot has been enlarged and upgraded to compete with modern competitors.
In Episode 3, Sir Killalot had a few significant moments. During the TR2 and King B Remix battle, Sir Killalot grabbed hold of King B's wheel and helped burn away the motors inside the machine, immobilising it. In a later battle between Big Nipper and Dantomkia, Dantomkia kept shoving Big Nipper into the CPZ occupied by Sir Killalot who in turn attacked Big Nipper multiple times. At one point Killalot rammed Big Nipper but got its own lance stuck in the arena wall, leaving it trapped for the rest of the match.
In Episode 5, it controversially helped Ironside3 after it was stuck on it back.