The robots are coming. And one of them looks a lot like Philomena Cunk in a wig. This week, the BBC launches Ann Droid, a new odd-couple comedy. Diane Morgan plays a second-hand robot designed to care for the elderly, who is forced on Sue Johnston’s skeptical pensioner.
Ann Droid is the latest in a long line of TV robots. We cautiously celebrate the rise of the machines by counting down the all-time Top 20. Stand by—the cybernetic selection is now loading…
20. Twiki (Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, 1979–1981)
Swashbuckling sci-fi hero Buck Rogers started as a 1929 newspaper comic strip. When NBC adapted it half a century later, starring square-jawed Gil Gerard, he was joined by cute robot assistant Twiki. Played by Felix “Cousin Itt from the Addams Family” Silla and voiced by Looney Tunes legend Mel Blanc, Twiki served drinks, said “Biddi-biddi-biddi!”, and wore a Frisbee-sized talking computer called Dr Theopolis around his neck. Because apparently, that’s what the 25th century looks like.
19. Awesom-O (South Park, 2004)
The Awesom-O 4000 “from Japan” is Eric Cartman’s robot alter ego. OK, he’s actually Eric in a cardboard suit, speaking in a robotic voice, but that’s enough to fool gullible Butters Stotch. Cartman pretends to be his robot friend to gather useful info. Naturally, the plan backfires. Awesom-O is forced to help Butters insert anal suppositories, gets headhunted by a Hollywood studio, and is captured by the US military to be used as a secret weapon. Eventually, Cartman gives himself away by farting. Only rivaled in animated comedy by Heistotron from Rick and Morty.
18. Robert the Robot (Justin’s House, 2011–2023)
CBeebies staple Justin’s House was a kid-friendly version of Noel’s House Party, starring Justin “Mr Tumble” Fletcher. He’s joined by his pet green monster and humanoid butler Robert the Robot (not a real robot, just a guy painted silver). Expect custard pies, the “Wiggle Your Bottoms” song, delighted preschoolers, and eye-rolling parents.
17. Cameron (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, 2008–2009)
Fox’s underrated TV spin-off from the film franchise starred Firefly’s Summer Glau as tough Cameron, a Terminator sent back from the future to protect resistance fighter Sarah Connor (Lena Headey) and her teenage son John (Thomas Dekker). Named after original director James Cameron, this ballet-dancing killer cyborg could mimic human behavior better than any previous model and could even eat. Naturally, John soon developed romantic feelings for his metal bodyguard. Her enemies included, brilliantly, Shirley Manson from Garbage as a shapeshifting Terminator. The show was canceled after two seasons, despite fan campaigns.
16. Robot B-9 (Lost in Space, 1965–1968)
“Danger, Will Robinson!” This friendly robot protected the Robinson family as they traveled the galaxy in the CBS classic, warning them of hidden dangers on alien planets. Often confused with Robby the Robot from Forbidden Planet (a common mistake), B-9 had accordion arms and claw hands, and a love-hate relationship with villainous Dr Smith (Jonathan Harris), who loved insulting him with alliterative names like “You bubble-headed booby,” “You tin-plated traitor,” and “You transistorised toad.”
15. Dolores Abernathy (Westworld, 2016–2022)
HBO’s remake of Michael Crichton’s 1973 cult movie was visually stunning, chillingly dystopian, and soon got lost in its own complex plot. A Wild West theme park was filled with androids, designed to be hunted or seduced by wealthy human guests, but they gradually became dangerously self-aware. Rancher’s daughter Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) experienced flashes of past trauma.The hands of the villainous Man in Black (Ed Harris) lead her to join a robot rebellion. Yee-hardware!
14. Metal Mickey (Metal Mickey, 1978–1983)
[Image description: Photograph: ITV/Rex/Shutterstock]
Boogie, boogie, boogie! After first appearing on the ITV kids’ show The Saturday Banana, the breakout character Metal Mickey got his own show. Created, controlled, and voiced by musician Johnny Edward – a former bandmate of David Bowie – the 5-foot-tall robot lived with the Wilberforce family, helping with housework while granny Irene Handl watched him suspiciously. His favorite treat was Atomic Thunderbuster sweets, which briefly went on sale in real life thanks to clever marketing. The Saturday teatime series was directed by Edward’s friend, Micky Dolenz from the Monkees, and pulled in 12 million viewers at its peak. He even had a Suede song named after him: “She sells hearts, he sells sweets …”
13. Murderbot (Murderbot, 2025–present)
Alexander Skarsgård was suitably imposing and stone-faced in this Apple TV comedy, adapted from Martha Wells’ novellas. We follow his private security droid, or “SecUnit,” who hacks his own programming and hides his newfound freedom while protecting a team of scientists on a mission to map an alien planet. Murderbot mocks the “stupid fucking humans” while binge-watching reruns of a Star Trek-like soap called The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon. Bored but wryly cool, the character is widely seen as coded as autistic and agender. A second season is in production.
12. Mia, AKA Anita (Humans, 2015–2018)
Channel 4’s Bafta-winning drama worked as a high-class sci-fi soap and a metaphor for society’s attitude toward migrant workers. Anthropomorphic android servant Mia (Gemma Chan) had glowing green eyes and was named Anita by her owners, the Hawkins family, but eventually “woke up” and joined the fight for robot freedom. To prepare for the role, Chan went to “synth school” to get rid of human physical habits. “It was a relief to go home and slouch,” she said.
11. Android Ash (Black Mirror, “Be Right Back,” 2013)
[Image description: Photograph: Channel 4]
This melancholic early episode of Charlie Brooker’s anthology remains among its very best. When Ash (Domhnall Gleeson) dies in a car crash, his pregnant girlfriend Martha (Hayley Atwell) signs up for a service that uses his social media posts and online activity to create an AI imitation. At first, she eases her grief by talking to virtual Ash through instant messaging and video calls. The next step is the arrival of a synthetic android version. What could possibly go wrong?
10. IG-11 (The Mandalorian, 2019–2023)
[Image description: Photograph: 2019 Lucasfilm Ltd]
Viewers of the Star Wars spin-off first met “Eyegee” when he was a deadly assassin droid trying to capture Baby Yoda. He was destroyed by the helmeted bounty hunter (Pedro Pascal) but brought back as IG-12 – now reprogrammed by wise Ugnaught farmer Kuiil (Nick Nolte) to be “nurse and protector” of the adorable green Grogu. Taika Waititi described his voice performance as a mix between Apple’s Siri and Hal from 2001: A Space Odyssey.
9. Eto Demerzel (Foundation, 2021–present)
[Image description: Photograph: AP]
This “gynoid,” or female-looking humanoid robot, appeared in Apple’s adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s work as a royal adviser to the revolving trio of Emperor Cleon clones. By season two, it was revealed that Demerzel (chillingly played by Finnish actor Laura Birn) was the real power behind the imperial throne. Having lived for over 20,000 years, she’s the last survivor of the Robot Wars and is now guiding humanity’s survival. Gulp.
8. Sir Killalot (Robot Wars, 1998–2018)
The cult BBC Two series, which drew 6 million viewers at its peak, had teams of amateur robot builders send their remote-controlled creations into a fighting arena. Sir Killalot was…Here’s the rewritten version in fluent, natural English:
The standout among the show’s “house robots.” Wearing his signature armored helmet, he had a rotating drill lance, wide jaws, powerful arms, and hydraulic crushing claws. He could—and sometimes did—cut an opponent in half. He even released a pop single called Robot Wars (Android Love), credited to Sir Killalot vs Robo Babe. It reached number 51 on the UK singles chart.
7. Number Six (Battlestar Galactica, 2004–2009)
“Are you alive? Prove it.” The most memorable humanoid Cylon in this space opera reboot was statuesque Six—named after Patrick McGoohan’s character from The Prisoner and played by Canadian former model Tricia Helfer. She used sex and seduction to manipulate government scientist Gaius Baltar into giving up defense secrets, helping the “skin jobs” conquer their human creators.
6. Vision (WandaVision, 2021)
This stylishly retro Marvel miniseries was far more avant-garde than anyone expected. Brave, confident, and lovingly made, it followed newlyweds Wanda “Scarlet Witch” Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and superpowered android Vision (Paul Bettany) in the idyllic suburb of Westview. Their picket-fence life seemed perfect—until their fake reality started to warp and shift through different decades of sitcom clichés. Vision’s own spin-off, VisionQuest, is set to arrive in October.
5. K-9 (Doctor Who, 1977–2010)
Affirmative, master! This robotic dog companion first rolled through space and time alongside the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker), then appeared in various Who spin-offs and the 21st-century revival. The loyal electronic hound proved useful against alien enemies, thanks to his encyclopedic knowledge and the powerful laser weapon hidden in his nose. Good boy.
4. Marvin the Paranoid Android (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, 1981)
Created as part of a program to give robots personalities, this Sirius Cybernetics Corporation prototype was depressed and bored because his planet-sized brain was never challenged enough, and he was stuck doing menial tasks. In Douglas Adams’ classic sci-fi comedy, miserable Marvin traveled through space with the last surviving Earth man, Arthur Dent. Radiohead even named a track on OK Computer after him. It still didn’t cheer him up.
3. Kryten (Red Dwarf, 1988–present)
“Spin my nipple nuts and send me to Alaska!” Played by Robert “Scrapheap Challenge” Llewellyn, this block-headed sanitation mechanoid—nicknamed “Captain Bog-bot” and “Commander U-Bend”—travels aboard the titular mining ship with a crew of fellow misfits. Kryten will happily humiliate himself to serve humanity, but after losing his obedience programs, he learns to lie and insult people. He even earned the dubious honor of being the first robot in sci-fi history to flip off a human. Smegging hell.
2. Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation, 1987–1994)
In the first reboot of Gene Roddenberry’s 1960s space western, albino-like android Data (Brent Spiner) played a similar role to Mr. Spock in the original—a super-intelligent outsider who struggled to understand the emotions of his human crewmates. The second officer aboard the USS Enterprise was more soulful than the average synthetic lifeform. He kept a pet cat, had romantic relationships (famously claiming to be skilled in a “broad variety of pleasuring”), and even had an evil twin. As he longed to become fully human, Data became the heart of the show—even though he didn’t have a heart.
1. Bender (Futurama, 1999–present)
To quote the tin terror himself, Bender’s story is a lot like yours—except more interesting, because it involves robots. In Matt Groening’s sci-fi sitcom, Bender Bending RodríguezQuez is a foul-mouthed, heavy-drinking, cigar-smoking, womanizing, lazy, kleptomaniac, nihilistic, bad-tempered robot. He was originally programmed to bend steel girders. Named after Judd Nelson’s character from The Breakfast Club — who also inspired Bart Simpson’s catchphrase “Eat my shorts” — Quez becomes the first friend that protagonist Fry makes after waking up from a thousand years in a cryogenic tube. And if you don’t agree with his number one ranking, you can bite his shiny metal ass. Ann Droid airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer at 9:30pm on Friday, July 17.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of FAQs about the greatest robots in TV history inspired by the classic Bender quote Bite my shiny metal ass
BeginnerLevel Questions
1 What does Bite my shiny metal ass mean
Its the catchphrase of Bender the robot from Futurama He says it as a rude defiant insult or to show he doesnt care Its meant to be funny because hes a robot with a literal metal butt
2 Who is the greatest TV robot of all time
Theres no single answer but the top contenders are usually Bender for his hilarious personality Data for his quest to be human and the Terminator for pure iconic coolness
3 What makes a TV robot great
A great robot isnt just a machine It has a distinct personality memorable lines a cool design and it makes us think about what it means to be human or alive
4 Are these robots from cartoons or liveaction shows
Both The list includes cartoon robots like Bender liveaction ones like Data and the Terminator and even stopmotion robots like the ones in Robot Chicken
5 Why do people love Bender so much
Hes a selfish lying drinking chainsmoking robot who is also weirdly loyal to his friends Hes the ultimate antihero and his lack of filter makes him hilarious
Advanced Questions
6 How does Data from Star Trek differ from typical evil robots
Data is unique because hes not a threat Hes a kind curious android who desperately wants to understand human emotions and become more human He represents the positive potential of artificial intelligence
7 What is the uncanny valley and why do some TV robots fall into it
The uncanny valley is the creepy unsettling feeling we get when a robot looks almost human but isnt quite right Older or lowbudget TV robots can trigger this because their movements or faces feel off
