UKTV has commissioned Masters of Reinvention (6x60) for its leading factual channel Yesterday and free streaming service UKTV Play, to be produced by Air TV.
In the new series, multi-award-winning mechanical engineer and broadcaster, Dr Shini Somara (Tomorrows Food, BBC One) will turn to back copies of Practical Mechanics magazine - once the bible of British inventors - to challenge a dream design team to update its vintage blueprints for the 21st century.
Each week Dr Shini will lead a diverse crew of engineers, crafters and gadgeteers to update inventions dating back to the 1930s, 40s, 50s or 60s using only Practical Mechanics faded plans as a guide. Working from a repurposed vintage shed on a Yorkshire airfield, the build teams will be drawn from a consistent pool of returning experts, with Dr Shini allocating team members to the projects that most suits their skills.
Masters of Reinvention has been commissioned for UKTV by commissioning editor Kirsty Hanson with head of factual and factual entertainment Helen Nightingale, and ordered by Yesterday channel director, Gerald Casey, and director of commissioning, Hilary Rosen. Produced by Air TV, the production company that makes Bangers & Cash, the executive producers are Matt Richards and Ian Cundall, and the series producer is Ben Bhatia.
UKTVs Kirsty Hanson said, "Britain is a nation of inventors and its brilliant to not only celebrate that, but inspire our viewers to be ambitious and creative with their spare time. Masters of Reinvention feels like an exciting, new turn of the wheel for Yesterday."Gerald Casey said, "Yesterday viewers will love how Masters of Reinvention combines innovation and invention in a new format, revealing how designers and engineers use their expertise to build gadgets from scratch."Air TVs Matt Richards said, "Its great to be working with UKTV on this innovative and authentic new format combining inspiration from the past with innovation for the future. The team will be attempting to build everything from powered cars, to sailing boats and bizarre gadgets. Its going to be a real challenge and the team cant wait to get started." Dr Shini Somara said, "We havent yet reinvented the wheel, so Im curious and amped on how and why we can improve on the ingenuities of yesteryear!"UKTV recently announced its intention to launch U - a new Masterbrand that will unite its family of free-to-air channels and its free streaming service. Launching in Summer 2024, the move will see its current streaming service UKTV Play transition to U and UKTVs family of free-to-air channels will become U&DAVE, U&DRAMA, U&YESTERDAY and U&W.
Masters of Reinvention will air in 2025 on U&Yesterday and available on free streaming service U. Yesterday is the home of other new UKTV Originals including Bangers & Cash, Canal Boat Diaries, Find It, Fix It, Flog It and Dream Car Fixers.
Masters of Reinvention is being distributed worldwide by BBC Studios.
Ends
For more information, please contact:
Notes to Editors: Masters of Reinvention images featuring Dr Shini are available .
About
Dr Shini trained as a mechanical engineer, completing a PHD in Computational Fluid Dynamics at Brunel University London. Her previous presenting roles include The Health Show and Tomorrows Food both for the BBC, and Smoke and Steel on Yesterday.
About Yesterday
Freeview 27 | Sky 155 | Virgin 129 | Freesat 159 | Youview 27 Stream for free on UKTV Play | uktvplay.co.uk/channel/yesterday | @yesterdaytweets TV for curious minds, revealing fascinating factual stories from the world around us. Yesterday showcases original series such as Dream Car Fixers and Secrets of the London Underground as well as new and exclusive observational documentaries, including Bangers & Cash, Find It, Fix It, Flog It and Canal boat Diaries.
About UKTV
UKTV has been at the forefront of branded television for over 30 years, entertaining the nation with programmes they love. Its leading brands - Dave, Gold, W, Drama, Alibi, Eden and Yesterday - span comedy, entertainment, natural history, factual and drama, and are delivered to audiences through UKTV Play, Sky, Virgin Media, NOW, Freeview and Freesat; and to Irish viewers through Sky, Virgin Media, Eir, Vodafone and NOW. Channel & content availability varies by platform. UKTVs content is also available to UK viewers via dedicated FAST channels on Samsung TV Plus, Amazon Freevee Pluto TV and Virgin Media.
UKTV is a significant investor in British creativity and is committed to working with new and established writers, directors and programme-makers. UKTV is part of BBC Studios, the UKs most-awarded production company, a world-class distributor with international branded services, and a commercial subsidiary of the worlds leading public service broadcaster, the BBC.
corporate.uktv.co.uk | press.uktv.co.uk | @uktvpress
About
Air TV is one of the fastest-growing independent production companies in the UK with an unrivalled reputation for creating high-volume award-winning factual TV. In 2023 they won the "Gamechanger Programme of the Year" award at the Broadcast Digital Awards for the ratings-busting classic car show Bangers & Cash on UKTVs Yesterday channel.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/07/2026
Broadcast Management Group (BMG) has announced the appointment of Kathy Samuels ...
01/07/2026
Shade has announced Custom Objects and Automations, a platform expansion releasing June 29, 2026, that adds database and workflow automation capabilities direct...
01/07/2026
FOR-A America has announced the addition of Jaz Wray and Fernando Cruz to its U.S. sales team. Both report to Ernie Leon, Senior VP and Head of Sales and Strate...
01/07/2026
NBC Sports will air all 15 MLB games nationally on Sunday, July 5, across NBC, P...
01/07/2026
Clear-Com has announced a wireless communications upgrade for Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, deploying FreeSpeak II and FreeSpeak Icon systems across both prod...
01/07/2026
England's performance team will use Sony's STATSports APEX GPS tracking system to monitor player physical data in real time during FIFA World Cup 2026 m...
01/07/2026
Adder Technology has announced the appointment of Neil Hillier as Chief Executive Officer, effective July 1, 2026. Hillier succeeds Adrian Dickens, who transiti...
01/07/2026
Bitcentral, Inc. has announced a strategic transaction creating two separate companies. The Production and Playout business will continue as Bitcentral, now own...
01/07/2026
DAZN has announced results from DAZN48, its creator initiative for the FIFA World Cup 2026. Launched in April 2026, the program received thousands of applicatio...
01/07/2026
Sarah Rose, VP, global services, Daktronics (NASDAQ: DAKT), will be inducted into the Information Display and Entertainment Association (IDEA) Hall of Fame at t...
01/07/2026
Gravity Media and the World Economic Forum's production team provided broadc...
01/07/2026
Insight Productions has announced the launch of Insight Storm, a 53-foot mobile broadcast unit built for esports production. The truck is built around a Ross Vi...
01/07/2026
ESPN has announced several content initiatives marking America's 250th anniversary, as part of The Walt Disney Company's Disney Celebrates America pro...
01/07/2026
Eleven production kits, REMI workflows, and cloud distribution bring 40 World Cu...
01/07/2026
The conference also discussed the opportunities offered an industry that is endu...
01/07/2026
The Mountain West Conference has announced the launch of MW , a direct-to-consumer streaming platform powered by Kiswe. The platform will carry live Mountain We...
01/07/2026
New AI Assistant, Multi-channel Audio, ARA2 improvements & more
Tracktion's DAW software has just received its latest major update, gaining a selection ...
01/07/2026
Stammering, stuttering, strangulated tones
The Crow Hill Company's latest creation promises to be the most original sound set they've produced to d...
01/07/2026
Exclusive run of limited-edition modelling pedals
Sweetwater and Andertons M...
01/07/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is pleased to announce that the ca...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Manfrotto Introduces UNCOVER, the new premium camera bag collection for modern h...
01/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Powers Houston Tamil Sangam Literacy Competition
Brie Clayton July 1, 2026
0 Comments
Volunteers use ATEM Mini Pro, Blackmagic Desig...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
PlayBox Technology has published State of Broadcast Infrastructure 2026, an in-depth industry research report examining the technologies, operational challenges...
01/07/2026
LONDON, UK, 1 JULY Jigsaw24 has appointed Alan Henry as Head of Sales for Media and Entertainment, reinforcing its continued investment in helping broadcaster...
01/07/2026
Content Vault, the patent-pending secure content distribution platform protecting high-value media from disclosures, theft and unauthorised access, today announ...
01/07/2026
Bitcentral, Inc. a leading provider of enterprise software and digital media solutions for news, sports and entertainment broadcasters, as well as streaming pla...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Groundbreaking First Nations Screen Business Accelerator launched through nation...
01/07/2026
Chyron Launches the All-New Chyron Academy: A Reimagined, Hands-On Learning Expe...
01/07/2026
Amplium Captures Kawasaki Brave Thunders Game with Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersiv...
01/07/2026
Boris FX Optics Expands Plugin Support to Apple Photos, Capture One, and Affinit...
01/07/2026
UKTV has today announced the appointment of Matt Berry to the newly created role of General Manager - Marketing, effective 1 July.
Matt will take on this senio...
01/07/2026
Sky Zero Footprint Fund-backed TV campaign featuring Deborah Meaden challenges consumers to rethink everyday bathroom wasteWednesday 1 July 2026
Fussy asks Bri...
01/07/2026
Constituency-level analysis reveals where girls miss out most on sport - and where targeted action could unlock more than £640 million in economic and health be...
01/07/2026
Wuppertal July 1, 2026
Riedel and SKAARHOJ Expand Collaboration With SimplyLive IntegrationRiedel Communications today announced an expanded collaboration wit...
01/07/2026
Apple today introduced power-packed updates to Apple Creator Studio, a groundbre...
UKTV has commissioned Masters of Reinvention (6x60) for its leading factual channel Yesterday and free streaming service UKTV Play, to be produced by Air TV.
