Hit BBC series to make a return 36 years after first episode

Virgin Radio

20 May 2024, 08:02

It has been revealed that Red Dwarf will be returning to our screens with a special episode that’s due to begin filming later this year. 

Red Dwarf first appeared on BBC Two in 1988 and ran for eight series over 11 years.

The sci-fi series, set in the future in space, follows the adventures of a gang on the mining spaceship called Red Dwarf. 

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The original cast included Robert Llewelyn as Kryten, Craig Charles as Dave Lister, Chris Barrie as a hologram named Arnold Rimmer and Danny John-Jules as The Cat. All the actors are believed to be returning for the new series, according to one of the cast members. 

Speaking on his YouTube channel (via British Comedy Guide), Robert said: “We knew we were going to do more Red Dwarf and we’re actually now doing it in the middle of October to the middle of November this year.”

He then announced that it would be a three-episode series and that the entire cast had agreed to it. 

Robert added: “We’re not going to do a new series, but we’re making something, and it should be fun.”

This isn’t the first time Red Dwarf has returned since it ended its original run in 1999. 

In 2009, the UK channel Dave screened three new 25-minute specials to celebrate the 21st anniversary, called The Back To Earth special. The episodes focused on the original crew returning to earth in 2009 to learn that they are characters in a TV show called Red Dwarf. 

More series were released in 2012, 2016 and 2017. In 2020, another feature, Red Dwarf: The Promised Land, also aired as a one-off. 

It looked like that would be the end of it, as in 2021, the creators of the series were involved in a rights court case. However, in March last year, an agreement was reached, and a statement released at the time said: “Rob Grant and Doug Naylor are delighted to announce that the ongoing dispute over the Red Dwarf rights has been resolved.

“Moving onwards and upwards, Rob and Doug hope to launch separate iterations of Red Dwarf across various media, working again with the cast and other valued partners and wish each other the very best.

“Smoke a kipper, Red Dwarf will be back for breakfast!!”