Red Dwarf co-creator reveals fate and plot details of his planned 90-minute special episode
It's not looking good for fans of the beloved sci-fi comedy.
Red Dwarf co-creator Doug Naylor has said that UKTV scrapped a new episode of the beloved sci-fi comedy last year.
It was previously reported that the series was set to return to screens, with filming due to begin last autumn.
Naylor, who created Red Dwarf with Rob Grant, recently said in a Reddit AMA [Ask Me Anything] that UKTV told him it wanted to progress a 90-minute special of Red Dwarf during a meeting in January 2024.
He added: "The cast were all on board and I was told to start writing. Several months later, things were progressing and I had got two-thirds of the way through the script.
"I had just signed my writer's contract, when I got an e-mail from UKTV who said they had difficult news to share - they were no longer going to commission scripted comedy, including the RD special, which I hadn't yet sent them."
He added that the script would involve Craig Charles's character Lister going back in time to help his 23-year-old self escape from stasis, while Chris Barrie's Rimmer teams up with his younger self to hunt them down on behalf of JMC.
A spokesperson for UKTV told RadioTimes.com in a statement: "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."
Craig Charles previously opened up to RadioTimes.com about the difficulty of making new Red Dwarf episodes, insisting the cast are all on board.
He described Naylor's script as "stunning" and added: "I don't know if this is giving anything away, but if you think that it's me at the age of 60 acting against me at the age of 23... it looks stunning, you're like, 'F**king hell, how did they do that?!'
"But can we afford to make it? That's the big thing."
Red Dwarf is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
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Authors
Louise Griffin is the Sci-Fi & Fantasy Editor for Radio Times, covering everything from Doctor Who, Star Wars and Marvel to House of the Dragon and Good Omens. She previously worked at Metro as a Senior Entertainment Reporter and has a degree in English Literature.
