Scrapheap Challenge events. Examples of challenges included making a jet car, a bridging machine, a car-crusher, and a machine to fling a British Leyland Mini as far as possible. Assistant producer Eve Kay had the idea for the show after watching a scene in the movie "Apollo 13", where NASA engineers had only a short period of time to construct a carbon dioxide filter out of parts available on the space capsule. The show also draws its inspiration from the 1980s TV series "The Great Egg Race". The UK show was originally presented by Robert Llewellyn, joined in series 2-4 by producer
Scrapheap Challenge 1-3) and Karyn Bryant (season 4-5). Former North Dakota Governor Ed Schafer was one of many notable people appearing on the show. Schafer was on during the fifth season as a member of the High Flyers which lost to the Jet Doctors in the Fifth Series finale. The first season was filmed in the UK, and included a competition between the grand winner of UK series 3, Megalomaniacs, and the US season 1 champs the Long Brothers (who won). The first season of the show was nominated for an Emmy award. The show was reformatted as Junkyard Mega-Wars to consist