BBC2 greenlights Mentorn's martial arts gameshow

In the UK, BBC2 has greenlit Robot Wars-producer Mentorn to produce a sports/gameshow hybrid that features members of the public fighting it out with martial arts weapons.

Masters of Combat is a six-part commission in which amateur contestants test their skills against other amateurs and, eventually, professionals.

Shooting begins this month, with bouts overseen by a 70-year-old Shaolin monk. BBC2 will air the show in September, with a second series already being discussed.

Mentorn, owned by the UK media group The Television Corporation, will shop the Masters of Combat format internationally. Its distribution wing, Mentorn International has had previous success with its BBC2 robot duel format Robot Wars, which was picked up by Viacom earlier this year.