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

A beloved BBC series is poised for a grand return 36 years after its inaugural episode graced television screens.

The cult classic Red Dwarf is set for a revival with a special episode, with filming expected to commence later this year. The original run of the sci-fi comedy spanned eight series across 11 years, debuting in 1988 and concluding in 1999.

Set in a distant future, the show chronicles the misadventures of a motley crew aboard the eponymous mining spaceship, Red Dwarf.

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The original cast boasted Robert Llewellyn as the mechanoid Kryten, Craig Charles as the slobbish Dave Lister, Chris Barrie as the fussy hologram Arnold Rimmer, and Danny John-Jules as the stylish entity known simply as The Cat. According to cast member Robert Llewellyn, all the original stars are set to reprise their iconic roles.

He shared: "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.", reports the Mirror.

Llewellyn also disclosed that fans can expect three new episodes. "A 90-minute special, three half-hours. So yes, we are making more," he announced on his YouTube channel.

"We've all agreed to do more. We're not going to do a new series but we're making something and it should be fun."

Following Red Dwarf, its stars went on to achieve significant success. Craig Charles spent ten years on Coronation Street playing taxi driver Lloyd Mullaney, while Danny John-Jules portrayed police officer Dwayne Myers in the hit series Death in Paradise.

Since its initial broadcast, Red Dwarf has seen several revivals, each marking significant anniversaries of the show.

Dave channel celebrated the 21st anniversary of the iconic programme with three new 25-minute specials in 2009, bringing back the original crew who discover they are characters in a TV show called Red Dwarf. Subsequent series were released in 2012, 2016, and 2017.

The feature-length special "Red Dwarf: The Promised Land" graced screens in 2020, running for 87 minutes. However, just a year later, the future of Red Dwarf was cast into doubt due to a legal dispute over rights involving the creators.

Fortunately, by last year, an agreement had been reached regarding the rights to the show.

At the time, a statement was issued saying: "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! ! ".

In December, Craig Charles hinted at what's to come during an interview with the Liverpool Echo: "We're in talks with the BBC and UKTV to do another series of Red Dwarf. It hasn't been on the BBC for so long but now they're in talks with UKTV to do a co-pro that will go out on Dave and the BBC."