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Red Dwarf's Chris Barrie was "very worried" about co-star Robert Llewellyn on The Promised Land set

Photo credit: UKTV/Gareth Gatrell
Photo credit: UKTV/Gareth Gatrell

From Digital Spy

Red Dwarf star Chris Barrie has admitted he was "very worried" about co-star Robert Llewellyn while filming recent TV movie The Promised Land.

The Red Dwarf team reunited for the project, which aired back in April, though Chris Barrie (Arnold Rimmer) explained that Kryten actor Llewellyn fell ill during production.

"Yeah, it really was tricky doing without Robert," he told the Radio Times.

Photo credit: UKTV/Gareth Gatrell
Photo credit: UKTV/Gareth Gatrell

Related: Red Dwarf writer solves one of the show's biggest plot holes

"I mean, doing it without any one of the four of us would be difficult, but there was quite a lot of doubt around when Robert would be fit enough to come back, and while he was there and not feeling very good, there were sort of moments where you're thinking, 'Well, Bobby, just say you're not feeling good, you've got to go, you've got to go and see a doctor or whatever'. And that was a little bit touch and go.

"Of course, we had a couple of guys who came in and sort of put on the Kryten costume and stood in for Robert, and they did a great job, but you know, someone who's played him for as long as Robert has, you're never going to… no-one's ever going to stand in for him, so there's such a limit to what you could shoot," he continued.

Photo credit: UKTV
Photo credit: UKTV

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"And you know, some days we were in a fully crewed studio sitting there thinking, 'Well, what can we shoot now?'. So that was difficult, actually, and part of me thinks we should maybe have just knocked filming on the head for a couple of weeks and waited until Robert was completely back.

"I don't know what Robert's told you but we were very worried about him at one point. To have one man down out of the four of us was tough."

Red Dwarf: The Promised Land aired on Dave.


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