Red Dwarf Is Back, Craig Charles Lets Slip Unofficially

And Robert Llewellyn confirms it on his website

Although it was supposed to be a big secret, Craig Charles let slip in a interview yesterday that a new Red Dwarf is definitely going to be made, and castmate Robert Llewellyn has since confirmed it on his website .

“The whole point was that I was told not to say anything,” writes Llewellyn. “Doug [Naylor, Red Dwarf co-creator] told me, face to face, ‘Don’t tweet this bobby. Not yet.’ So I didn’t. I was really good. I said nothing. Then I spent a day in my voiceover cell and know nothing of the interview Craig had done on the radio.”

Charles was appearing on the breakfast show on Real Radio, where he revealed, “They’ve just commissioned another series of Red Dwarf . We’re gonna film at the end of November, December and January.”

“You’ve got to love him, he knows how to spin the scoop,” continues Llewellyn on his site. “I’ve just spoken to Craig. He was as usual gloriously funny about it. He said, and I quote, ‘I did a radio interview and it just sort of slipped out.’ So yes, we are making a new series, commissioned by Dave, not a special or a movie or a one-off dooberry. A full six half-hour episodes of a brand new series.”

Last year there were rumours floating round that Dave – the channel that aired the three-part “Back To Earth” – had commissioned two series, but for the moment it seems only one is confirmed.

Llewellyn also reveals, “The plan at the moment, and this could change, is that we record the new series in front of an audience,” and goes on to ponder how this will complicate the matter of trying a keep a lid on spoilers in this new age of the internet. “As far as the cast are concerned, we don’t give a stuff one way or the other, but the producers are very worried and I can see why. The gap between recording a show and its eventual broadcast is quite long, especially on Red Dwarf . It’s a show which uses a lot of post-production time. Special effects, tweaking shots, CGI, even, dare I hope for it, model shots, all take time. By the time the shows are released on Dave in 2012, half the potential bloody viewers could know an enormous amount about it.”

And remember, Craig Charles is one of the guests at SFX Weekender 2 , so get your questions about the new series ready for him.