Joel Harley
Published February 22, 2026 5:23pm
Updated February 22, 2026 5:23pm
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Red Dwarf is one of British comedy’s most beloved sitcoms (Picture: BBC)
The co-creator of cult sitcom Red Dwarf has revealed that he has had discussions about the series’ return… albeit with an all-new cast.
Created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, the fan-favourite science fiction comedy initially aired on BBC Two from 1988 to 1999.
It starred Craig Charles as slovenly spaceship engineer Dave Lister, who awakens from three million years of suspended animation.
Now the last living human, he’s accompanied on his lonely journey across the stars by the hologram of his ex-bunkmate, Arnold Rimmer (Chris Barrie), and The Cat (Danny John-Jules) – a creature evolved from Lister’s pregnant cat.
After the show fizzled out on the BBC, it was picked up by the broadcaster Dave, where it remained from 2009 to 2020.
With a new prequel novel on the horizon, series co-creator Grant has hinted that the crew could well return to screens in the not-too-distant future.
Craig Charles and Chris Barrie starred as long-time frenemies Dave Lister and Arnold Rimmer (Picture: BBC)
The core crew was later joined by android Kryten, played by Robert Llewellyn (Picture: Dave)
Set for release in July, Red Dwarf: Titan is set before the events of the television series and follows Lister and Rimmer as they enjoy shore leave on one of Saturn’s moons.
The book was written by Grant with co-author Andrew Marshall, based on the former’s idea for a TV spin-off.
Asked by Radio Times whether Titan could be adapted for the screen, Grant replied: ‘Yes! We originally wrote it as a treatment for a TV spin-off and took it around, but it’s horribly expensive, and we couldn’t really raise enough interest.’
He continued: ‘We might down the line… we’ve been talking to streamers about it but, when you read it, [you’ll realise] it’s a whole world you’d have to create. It wouldn’t be cheap.’
Plans for a new special ultimately didn’t come to pass (Picture: Dave)
This seemingly rules out a return for Charles and Barrie, who are now 61 and 65 years old apiece.
Being set three million and thirty-nine years in the past, it also means that the Cat and android chum Kryten (Robert Llewellyn) won’t exist yet.
Of the original cast, Grant said: ‘The guys are getting old.’
Creator Rob Grant isn’t ruling out a return (Picture: Dave)
Grant added: ‘We’d really need to recast. That’s what I thought the Titan spin-off might achieve. We’d get a new Rimmer and Lister – but the existing cast could appear in quite decent roles, if they wanted to.
‘I know – and I’m with them – that the fans adore the cast. I adore them too. And just to a lot of people, it just wouldn’t feel right, anybody else playing anything like those parts.
‘But what else can you do? Except AI?!’ he joked.
Grant has hinted that the crew would have to be recast due to the actors’ advancing ages (Picture: BBC)
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Last year, the show’s other co-creator, Doug Naylor, revealed how plans for a 90-minute special had fallen through.
Writing in an Ask Me Anything thread on Reddit, he shared: ‘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.
However, Naylor claims that he was later told by UKTV that they would no longer be progressing with the project.
Still, he remained hopeful that the boys from the Dwarf might return, sharing news that he’d been working on a movie called Out of the Red, which would see the cast play fictionalised versions of themselves.
The 2020 special, The Promised Land, was the boys’ last adventure (Picture: Gareth Gatrell)
A spokesperson for UKTV told Metro 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 also remains hopeful that the show could return, telling Radio Times: ‘Absolutely, yeah, there’s always that possibility.
‘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.
Star Craig Charles has expressed an interest in reprising the role (Picture: UKTV)
The show’s future was already unclear after Naylor launched a 2021 High Court action against his former writing partner over rights to the show.
The pair, who dissolved their partnership in the mid-1990s, had subsequently written the show either alone or with other collaborators.
As of 2023, they managed to come to an understanding, with a statement reading: ‘Rob Grant and Doug Naylor are delighted to announce that the ongoing dispute over the Red Dwarf rights has been resolved.
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‘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!!’
All series of Red Dwarf are currently available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
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Red Dwarf: Titan, by Rob Grant and Andrew Marshall, will be published on July 16, 2026.
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