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.
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.
Ian’s Newsround – Covers and Conventions News Posted by Ian Symes on 10th July 2025, 15:51 Whaaaaat? An Ian's Newsround? When TOS still isn't updating and there isn't a new series about to air? Yes, we're in the unusual situation whereby, during a period in Dwarf's history where it's not unusual to go for months at a time without any news whatsoever, lots of little bitty things have happened in the last couple of weeks. Most of this has already been discussed by the community in our forum and comments sections, but it's nevertheless nice to log it for the record all in one place. Let us begin with... I see a little silhouetto of some men As you can see, the cover image for the new Bluray boxset has been revealed, via the underwhelming medium of the Amazon listing being updated. My initial thoughts are that it's an improvement on the previous abomination, but that's a low bar to clear. I can kind of see what they're going for; we'd been discussing how tricky it is to pick photographs that represent the whole lifespan of the show, and so doing something this stylised makes sense. Silhouettes of the main four characters is a good idea on paper, but other than the logo itself (and thank you, powers that be, for giving us a complete 'W' and 'A' this time) absolutely nothing about this screams "Red Dwarf" at first glance. Matt Groening once said that the greatest cartoon characters are identifiable purely from their silhouette, and Dwarf is fairly unusual among live action shows in each of the main characters having at least one physical attribute that's both unique and iconic. If you want an abstract representation of those four characters, surely you go with teeth, H, dreadlocks and angular head? Wouldn't close-ups be more attention grabbing than shadows in the distance? And what about Holly, or Kochanski, or Snacky? Read more →
Mike Agnew RIP News Posted by Ian Symes on 8th July 2025, 17:34 The very sad news has reached us that Mike Agnew has passed away. As the Production Manager for Red Dwarf Series 2 and III, he was one of the driving forces behind the show’s early success, and provided us with so many memorable behind the scenes stories. Mike started out as an actor, before moving behind the scenes as Rowan Atkinson’s tour manager. He broke into television after meeting Paul Jackson on the first ever Comic Relief, becoming part of his and director Ed Bye’s trusted team on Craig Goes Mad in Melbourne and Don’t Miss Wax. Joining Red Dwarf for its second series, Mike made a big impact on both sides of the camera, famously standing in for Craig Charles during the location shoot for Thanks For The Memory, after the actor sped off to attend the birth of his child. He made further notable appearances in Series III, as the auto-destruct voice in Bodyswap, Kevin the Polymorph, and most famously “Git in Pub” in Backwards, where you can also hear him shouting “!noitca” at the end/start of the fight scene. But it was behind the scenes that he made the biggest impression, with his Production Manager role encompassing floor management, location scouting, and assistant directing. He recounted some of his war stories in the It’s Cold Outside and All Change DVD documentaries; highlights include the tale of a mishap with a drape during a crucial moment of the Kryten shoot, and of the time Danny and Craig went missing on location for Backwards, which culminated in Ed Bye having to physically restrain him. More recently, he joined Rob, Ed, Paul and Dona Distefano for the Quarantine Commentary on Thanks For The Memory, and was interviewed for Dave’s Red Dwarf: The First Three Million Years. Immediately post-Dwarf, Mike was floor manager for such programmes as The Jack Dee Show, Knowing Me Knowing You With Alan Partridge and TFI Friday. Having got his first taste of directing on a scene in Timeslides, he then graduated to a mixture of producer and director roles, across such shows as The Big Breakfast, Don’t Forget Your Toothbrush, Tarrant on TV, You’ve Been Framed, Dog Eat Dog, Friends Like These and The Great Garden Challenge. Mike was a well respected figure in the television industry, and he leaves a big hole in the Red Dwarf family. Our thoughts and condolences go out to all those who knew him.
No sir, all thirteen! News Posted by Ian Symes on 19th June 2025, 16:44 With thanks to Dave for drawing our attention to this in our forum, a very interesting new release has appeared on the website of online retailer Zavvi. Hot on the heels of 2019’s Series I-VIII Bluray comes… the Series I-XIII Bluray! Yes, Series XIII… let the debate about how to number the various productions of the Dave era continue into a third glorious decade. We’re always wary about fully trusting the details listed by retailers this far in advance of a release, as plans can change, and even those that don’t change may have been misinterpreted at some stage. However, in the absence of any kind of official online presence for Red Dwarf, we’re very intrigued by the list of what’s included. As well as uniting the BBC and Dave eras of the show in a commercial release for the first time ever, we’re promised that Just The Smegs will be there too, which is great news. It felt like the one thing that was really lacking from the previous collection. No word on Beat The Geek, though. The small print specifies that there’ll be a whopping 32 discs, which indicates we’re getting the full extras package from the previous boxset and the individual releases. Two discs apiece for Series I-VI and BTE-XII makes 20, three each for VII and VIII brings us to 26, then single discs for Just The Smegs and The Promised Land equals 28. That leaves four discs remaining, which suggests The Bodysnatcher Collection may well be included in full this time, with the Re-Mastered episodes and all. We’d assume that the episodes themselves will be the remasters (with a small r) from the 2019 boxset, and that the old extras will be presented on clones of the original DVDs, as before. I’m also going to guess that there’ll be no new extras to speak off, but I’ll be more than happy to be proven wrong. Release is scheduled for 6th October, so we’re looking forward to learning more – and seeing the new artwork – between now and then. And we’ve got just under four months to learn to speak fluent Emglish.
Sin, sin, sin, sin, sin… oh, I’ve not sin that! News Posted by Jonathan Capps on 22nd March 2025, 22:07 Well, here’s one for all the fans who wanted Doug to write a new novel. Please, ignore that monkey’s paw curling its finger… Thank you to clem over on the forum for spotting that Doug Naylor will be releasing a new children’s book this September, entitled Sin Bin Island. At the end of each year, four pupils from Cyril Sniggs’s Correctional Orphanage for Wayward Boys and Girls are banished to Sin Bin Island, an eerie place surrounded by eel-infested waters. Legend has it, the island has a secret tunnel, used to smuggle magic into mainland England. But in over 300 years the tunnel has never been found. Nor has any of the magic. This year, all that’s going to change. How intriguing! We’ll have to wait until September to see if Cyril Sniggs’s controversial ‘abandon children on the secret magic eel island’ will pay off for the lad. The book is aimed at children 9 to 11, and as someone with a child who will be approaching that age range when this is released I’m really looking forward to seeing what Doug can bring to not quite young adults’ fiction. This definitely seems to be one of those books that will be on the darker side of things, possibly more in line with things like Lemmony Snicket that anything else, and I really do hope he’s able to bring some of the Naylor magic that a lot of us experienced as kids reading the Red Dwarf novels, but this time to the next (next) generation.
