It's the return of '¨the king as Robot Wars veteran is back

But when Simon got word that the hit TV show Robot Wars was coming back, the formidable machine was dusted down and was soon pressed back into action.

And viewers can see how the revamped and renamed King B Remixed fares back in the arena when it goes wheel-to-spike-to-anglegrinder against Big Nipper, Dantomkia, Glitterbomb, Orte, Overdozer, Supernova and TR2 this Sunday.

The show sees robots scrap it out in a series of fights to ultimately claim the title of champion in the series grand final.

The original King Buxton appeared as a competitor several times during the show’s original run from 1998 to 2004.

Simon, a power electronics engineer from Portsmouth, said: ‘It’s been a long time coming back. King B’s just been sitting there in my garage, rusting away.

‘We managed to brush it up quite well – it needed a good amount of WD40.

‘It was still running, but there was a lot on the point of breaking, so it needed completely taking apart – every last nut, bolt and screw and it got a complete upgrade.

‘I’d been thinking for 12 years about what I’d do if the show came back, but in the end, we didn’t have that much notice, so we couldn’t do everything I wanted.’

Also in the team are Grant Hornsby, Martin Slattery and Simon’s wife Natsuko – who gives King B pep talks in her native Japanese.

‘Natsuko gets very personally involved, added Simon. ‘King B has been around for so long it’s become like a real identity. She’ll speak to it at great length before each battle.’

And in a nod to her homeland, King B has parts from Akihabara, the famed Tokyo electronics district, among his components.

The 47-year-old isn’t allowed to reveal how they get on, but said: ‘I thought I knew what to expect – I think I’d got into a bit of a groove from being on there before. But when I got back in there it really hit me. I had that joy of being back, but also feeling a bit sick and in awe, like I was the first time.’

Find out how King B gets on when the show airs on BBC2 at 8pm on Sunday.