RED DWARF: PLANS FOR NEW SPECIALS CANCELLED BY UKTV

Revealed by British Comedy Guide, Red Dwarf creator Doug Naylor has revealed that UKTV u-turned and cancelled plans for a new three-part 90 minute special of Red Dwarf.

Commenting on a 'ask me anything' thread of Reddit, creator Doug Naylor said: "Back in January 2023, I went in for a meeting with UKTV who said they wanted to progress a new 90-minute Red Dwarf special. The cast were all on board and I was told to start writing...

He continues: "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."

The beloved sci-fi comedy was originally created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor. 6 Music DJ Craig Charles stars as Dave Lister, a low ranked caretaker on board the city-sized mining ship Red Dwarf who finds himself the last remaining human being alive after an accident kills the rest of the crew.

He wakes after 3 million years in suspended animation, his only companions the hologram of his pernickety and contemptuous bunkmate Rimmer, a creature that evolved from his pet cat, named Cat, ship’s computer Holly, and Kryten - an android they rescue from a shipwreck.

Red Dwarf is available to stream on BBC iPlayer and U.