Red Dwarf to return to the BBC after 15 years

Virgin Radio

20 Jun 2023, 13:41

Beloved sci-fi comedy Red Dwarf is back home on the BBC alongside revival episodes never-before-aired on the broadcaster. 

Every episode of the cult-favourite franchise, which ran on the BBC from 1988 until 1999, is available to watch on BBC iPlayer from today (20th June), 15 years after the final episode aired in 2007. 

Red Dwarf had then been revived on comedy channel Dave in 2009, 2012 and 2016, and those new rebooted episodes will make their debut on the streaming service. 

Among those new episodes includes the 2020 feature-length special, The Promised Land, which saw Dave Lister (Craig Charles) Arnold Rimmer (Chris Barrie), The Cat (Danny John-Jules) and Kyrten (Robert Llewellyn) face off against feral cat leader Rodon (Ray Fearon) who wanted to destroy those who do not worship him. 

Dan McGolpin, Director of BBC iPlayer and Channels, said in a statement: “The strangest gang in space are back on the BBC - with classic episodes of Red Dwarf right from the very beginning touching down soon. Whatever makes you chuckle, there is a series waiting for you on BBC iPlayer.”

Luckily for comedy fans, it’s not just Red Dwarf flying home to the mother-ship. Kathy Burke’s odd-couple sitcom Gimme Gimme Gimme is also on the comeback train. 

The innuendo-stuffed sitcom ran from 1999 to 2001 and saw Burke as Linda La Plume, who shares her flat with actor Tom Farrell (James Dreyfus). The series follows both of their journeys to find the perfect man, and Burked picked up two BAFTA nominations for her performance. 

Spencer Jones’ comedy Mister Winner will also have its spot on the BBC iPlayer after coming to an end in 2020. The Upstart Crow star plays Leslie Winner, who often finds himself in utterly disastrous situations. 

Speaking on BBC comedy, Catherine Tate recently sat down on The Graham Norton Radio Show with Waitrose to discuss her new latest sitcom, Queen of Oz. 

The Doctor Who star’s new show is available to watch on BBC iPlayer now, and sees her star as Princess Georgiana, a disgraced British royal. In order to get her as far away from the British throne as possible, Georgiana’s parents ship her off to live and rule in Australia. 

Explaining how the show came about, the comedy icon told Graham: “A producer from Canada emailed me about four years ago and said, ‘I really like your work. I’ve got this idea that I think you’d be great for. Here’s a request, are you ever in Toronto? If you’re ever in Toronto I’d love to meet you.’”

She continued: “Bizarrely, in about a month’s time from receiving that email, I was going to Toronto.

“It was meant to be! Swear to god!”

The 12 series of Red Dwarf, Gimme Gimme Gimme and Mister Winner will be available on BBC iPlayer from today (Tuesday 20th June.)