G&TV: Stand Up Quickies Posted by Ian Symes on 21st November 2025, 09:41 Ah, G&TV, always a reliable indication that we've suddenly realised it's been ages since our last update. As is so often the case, we are eternally grateful to our good friend Jonsmad for keeping the G&T inbox topped up with archival treats, ready to be raided at a moment's notice. This one's a particularly juicy titbit - two episodes from the late 80s/early 90s ITV show Stand Up, both of which feature Hattie Hayridge and Craig Ferguson. Back when this programme started in 1989, whoever was in charge of naming it clearly wasn't anticipating how difficult it would be to Google in a quarter of a century's time. But from what we can gather, these episodes hail from that first series, meaning they were filmed up in Manchester not long after Hattie was there to be Hilly, and not long before she was there to be Holly. However, it was only shown regionally on its initial broadcast, whereas these recordings come from a late night national repeat in the summer of 1991. Read more →
Into the Toasterverse Features Posted by Ian Symes on 22nd October 2025, 12:31 Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone? From November 2000 until February 2022, Red Dwarf's official website would be updated every single Friday (barring Christmas holidays) without fail. Over twenty years of weekly updates, bringing us the latest news on new episodes, home media releases, merchandise and cast/crew projects. And whenever there wasn't a great deal to report on, they'd simply churn out some of the best fan writing Red Dwarf has ever had. Over the years, editors Andrew Ellard, Seb Patrick and Curtis Threadgold wrote countless features, covering behind-the-scenes history, analysis and commentary on the show's themes, and deep dives into niche rabbit holes. But in the earliest days of what we came to know affectionately as TOS, there was also a little something extra. Read more →
Red Dwarf: Complete Series I-XIII Box Set Review Reviews Posted by Ian Symes on 9th October 2025, 09:38 It doesn't feel too long ago that I was reviewing the last Red Dwarf box set, but it turns out that was six and a half years ago; we've been through a global pandemic, four new Prime Ministers and even a new monarch since then. There's only been one new episode of Red Dwarf broadcast during that time, but there is one very big difference between the 2025 box set and the 2019 one - the original BBC run and the Dave era are now joined together in one glorious whole. This is of course how it should be; despite the change of broadcaster, it was always a continuation rather than a reboot, and given that UKTV is now wholly owned by the BBC's commercial arm, there should be no barriers to the reunification of Red Dwarf. So it makes sense to replace the Series 1-VIII-only box set with a newly-released Every Episode Ever box set in the shops; there's no guarantees that all episodes will be available on iPlayer indefinitely, and so anyone who doesn't already own physical copies of the shows can pick them all up with one convenient purchase. But what about those of us who already have the 2019 box and all the individual releases between Back To Earth and The Promised Land? Is there any incentive for the hardcore to part with their hard-earned cash, other than completism? Other than the extra episodes themselves, is this box set a significant upgrade on the previous one? Read on to find out... Read more →
The ‘Ow-much? Red Dwarf Convention News Posted by Ian Symes on 27th September 2025, 16:08 We've always said that we'd be reserving judgement on the new Official Red Dwarf Convention until we had more details - what kind of event is it going to be, how much is it going to cost, what do we get for our money. Well, we now have those details, with the launch of the convention's website. It's going to be held at The Level, a music and events venue in Nottingham, on the 18th and 19th of July 2026. So unlike Dimension Jump, it'll be more of a comic con style affair, rather than the more intimate vibe you get from a hotel-based con. This is kind of what we were expecting, given that it's being run by the team behind Em-Con, but it's fair to say there's been a bit of a backlash from a number of fans, especially when it comes to the pricing. Before we get into it, full disclosure: while I was never a part of The Official Red Dwarf Fan Club team, my partner was for over a decade, specifically as the chief Dimension Jump organiser for most of that time. As a Fan Club WAG, I was among those who helped to run a total of six DJs, to varying degrees. Read more →
Sin Bin Snippets News Posted by Ian Symes on 17th September 2025, 09:58 Doug Naylor's debut children's novel, Sin Bin Island, was released last week and is now officially launched, following last night's event at Waterstone's Piccadilly. Doug was interviewed by S.F. Said, best-selling author and stablemate at publisher David Fickling Books, then took questions from the audience and stuck around to sign books afterwards. In attendance were Red Dwarf alumni such as producer Richard Naylor and casting director Linda Glover - how lovely that they've all kept in touch since production wrapped. Robert Llewellyn was also there throughout, while birthday boy Danny John-Jules arrived just as the last of the autograph queue dwindled away. Never change, Danny. There are plenty of other events coming up if you missed yesterday's, but in the meantime, here are a few of the things we learned, about Sin Bin Island, Red Dwarf and more... Read more →
UKTV no longer interested in the sort of genre Red Dwarf is News Posted by Ian Symes on 7th September 2025, 14:27 Yesterday, Doug Naylor did an AMA on Reddit, primarily to promote Sin Bin Island, but as you'd probably expect, not least because it took place on the Red Dwarf subreddit, there was a heavily Dwarfy tinge to the conversation. Our community did a lovely job of highlighting all the interesting bits on our forum, but there was one particular answer that deserves closer scrutiny. On the topic of the rumoured new special, Doug 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. 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 script involved Lister going back in time to help his 23-year-old self escape from stasis. He and a reluctant younger Lister would go on the run as Lister was trying to give his younger self a more fulfilled life. Meanwhile Rimmer teams up with his younger self to hunt them down on behalf of JMC. Read more →
TOSed back News Posted by Ian Symes on 3rd September 2025, 09:39 Do you believe in miracles, you sexy thing? Because, like George McIntyre, Arnold Rimmer and your man Jesus H. Christ, reddwarf.co.uk has returned from the dead. Three and a bit years since it was mothballed, Red Dwarf finally has an official online presence once more. I doubt it will be quite the same as before – I’m not anticipating weekly updates come rain or shine, like the good old days – but this is very much a positive move. It means that once again there’s a proper place to give us reliable news on forthcoming releases and behind the scenes developments, rather than having to hope a fan spots something in the wild, or spending our time debunking tabloid rumours. We imagine updates will be ad hoc from now on, but it’s just lovely to have the old girl back up and running. The catalyst for the site rising from the dead is presumably the impending release of Sin Bin Island, which is the main new update. It’s out on Thursday week, and Doug will be marking the occasion with a Reddit AMA this Saturday 6th, and a launch party at Waterstone’s Piccadilly on September 16th, at which we’re promised that at least one Red Dwarf cast member will be in attendance. The front page of the site also has a new intro, which mentions the upcoming boxset, soundtrack release (which it confusingly refers to as “Red Dwarf Audible Collection“, when it’s not exclusive to Audible) and official convention. Somewhat optimistically, it describes the boxset as containing all the shows “so far”. While we’re on the subject, the listings have updated with a new image that reveals a little more about what to expect. On the right, you can see what looks like a fairly hefty booklet, which is a promising sign. But oof, it’s frustrating that the first folder of discs contains Series 1-VII and Just The Smegs, while Series VIII is in the second set. It’s undoubtedly due to needing an even split of discs across the two, but it would be so much more satisfying to swap JTS and VIII around. But anyway, welcome back TOS! If I were to be picky (and this is G&T, so I am), I’d say the sidebar could do with a refresh – you can’t currently watch The Promised Land on UKTV Play, signing up for the Quarantine Commentaries is probably not worth it these days, and you probably don’t want to be flogging your old boxset when the new one is out in just over a month. Also, technically there are a few updates that have been removed from the site in this relaunch. Two of which were the announcements of the site’s downtime and its return in archival form, but more significantly we’re now missing the statement that confirmed the legal kerfuffle had come to an end. So we’ll continue to maintain our own unofficial archive for the timebeing, and keep hoping beyond hope that the missing bits of older content are restored to the main site at some point.
DwarfCast 177 – Wafflemen Special #5 DwarfCasts Posted by Ian Symes on 29th August 2025, 09:37 Subscribe to DwarfCasts: RSS • iTunes The Least Used Scrotum in London After an enforced absence where it proved impossible to find an afternoon where all three of us were available and awake, we are back in your ears with a brand new DwarfCast! There was a lot to catch up on, including the new Bluray boxset, Doug's debut children's novel and the forthcoming audiobook releases of the TV soundtracks. Join us for a big old news round up, supplemented by a fresh stack of waffles, provided to us by you, the faithful listener/reader. Does Red Dwarf have a future on TV? What would feature in a modern day Smegazine? Are there any dream DVD extras that haven't yet been made? What's the best Best of the Beatles album? All this and more in our latest Wafflemen Special. Read more →
There are some sounds to hear News Posted by Ian Symes on 7th August 2025, 12:56 As is now traditional in the post-TOS world, we have once again learned of a new Red Dwarf product via the medium of someone from the G&T community happening to spot it for sale somewhere. In this case, it was Si who alerted us to an audiobook release of the television soundtracks of Series 1-VIII. As someone who used to balance a tape recorder in front of the TV so that I could listen to my favourite episodes on my Walkman on the rare occasions I was forced to leave the house, I can definitely see the appeal. Whether it's strictly a necessary purchase in an era when you can listen to the soundtrack to any episode, with bonus accompanying pictures, simply by opening up iPlayer on your phone, is another matter. The artwork is pretty neat, certainly more appealing than the forthcoming Bluray set. I always shudder when I see the cut-off-W-and-A version of the logo, but putting that aside, the background looks nice, the layout is optimal, and the chopped up publicity photos used are both from the correct era. It's potentially a little jarring to have Rob Grant's name up the top on the second set, when he actually wrote less than half of the episodes contained, but the alternative of including caveats and potentially having to name all the Series VII writers is much too convoluted. Read more →
Charles Augins RIP News Posted by Ian Symes on 20th July 2025, 18:27 More terrible news, I’m afraid. As reported by filmmaker and producer Courtney Baker-Oliver on Instagram, the peerless Charles Augins passed away yesterday, aged 81. Charles was a legend in the world of musical theatre, as an actor, dancer and choreographer. His work in Broadway, the West End and beyond was much-admired, and his plaudits included the NAACP Award, the L.A. Theatre Ovation Award and the coveted Laurence Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer, for his work on Five Guys Named Moe. In his later years, he was the chair of the dance department at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, sharing his gifts with the next generation. Beyond theatre, he also appeared in Blake’s 7, Revenge of the Pink Panther and The Tall Guy, while his best known work – except for possibly the Babycham advert – was probably on Jim Henson’s Labyrinth. He choreographed David Bowie for the Magic Dance sequence, as well as Chilly Down in which he also appeared as a Fiery alongside Danny John-Jules. It was this connection that brought him into our world. Danny invited Charles along as a guest to the wrap party for Series 1, and he stole the show. Rob and Doug wrote the role of Queeg with him in mind, and to say he made his mark would be an understatement. It’s not just one of, but perhaps the greatest guest performance in Red Dwarf history. We certainly thought so when producing our top ten list; to quote myself from eleven years ago: If Charles Augins hadn’t been such a good dancer, he would have been a brilliant drill sergeant. Authoritarian, menacing and borderline psychotic: all the necessary ingredients for portrayal of a truly sadistic bastard. But it’s the little nuances that elevate the performance to the top spot, such as the hints of joy when waking Rimmer up at the time he asked for, or the casual indifference to the fact that he fainted during his enforced exercise. All this from a character that, it turns out, doesn’t actually exist. How Dwarfy is that? As if that performance wasn’t enough, Charles also choreographed the iconic Tongue Tied routine for the following episode, and even returned to the show a decade later to work on Back in the Red‘s Blue Midget dance. He was clearly adored by the Red Dwarf community, as evidenced by the reaction when his video message was played in at Dimension Jump XX. I’ll never forget the tingle of excitement when I first saw it. Of all the dozens of people who kindly contributed their time to those messages, getting Charles was the biggest coup. He was a truly special man, and it’s an honour that Red Dwarf was blessed with his presence. Rest in peace, pilgrim. You will be missed.
