Red Dwarf confirms exciting new release after new special was scrapped

Red Dwarf fans haven't had the best time of it recently, with a planned special being unceremoniously scrapped by UKTV – but there's a silver lining to this cloud, as fans will soon be able to relive the show's best moments.

The original TV soundtrack collections for the classic sci-fi comedy are set to be released as BBC audiobooks.

The audiobooks, Red Dwarf: Series I to IV and V to VIII: The BBC TV Soundtracks, will be available from 20th November – so watch this space!

The news comes after Doug Naylor, co-creator of Red Dwarf, revealed that the new episode fans had been looking forward to was scrapped by UKTV last year.

A spokesperson for UKTV told RadioTimes.com at the time: "UKTV has no current plans to commission further episodes of Red Dwarf.

"It's been a privilege to work with Doug Naylor and the cast in a relationship that began with the Back to Earth specials, which premiered to 4 million viewers, and has subsequently produced three full series, a retrospective and Red Dwarf's first ever feature length, The Promised Land."

However, Naylor has since shared with RadioTimes.com that there's "absolutely" a chance of the episode, which was set to see Craig Charles's Lister meeting his younger self, being shopped around to other channels.

"Absolutely, yeah, there's always that possibility," he said. "It's public knowledge now this week, because I've announced it, and so now we will go out. The [cast] are really keen to do more.

"I've also done two thirds of a movie called Out of the Red where the guys play fictitious versions of themselves, and there's real interest in that as well, both from a distributor and from a production company.

"In fact, I had a meeting about that this morning, so there's that possibility as well. So it's not dead, Dave – yet!"

So, as the wait for more Red Dwarf continues, it's time to relive the best moments in audio form! Fingers crossed we'll see the gang back on screen soon.

The new BBC audiobooks, Red Dwarf: Series I to IV and V to VIII: The BBC TV Soundtracks will be available from 20th November. Red Dwarf is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

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