The Official Red Dwarf Convention 2026

[barbucha]

This weekend (July 18-19, 2026) the long-awaited event The Official Red Dwarf Convention 2026 took place at The Level in Nottingham. Our crew was right in the middle of the action, but we have to admit that we return with very mixed feelings.

Although the dedication of the fans, who have been invaluable “co-pilots” for the series for decades, was felt at every step, the organization of the event itself had significant gaps in our opinion. We expected a slightly more precise course from an event held under the official license of Grant Naylor Productions.

Were any of you there too? What was your impression of the panels and the overall atmosphere? Share your experiences, so we know if we just had a bad day in our judgment. We will prepare a detailed report for you in the future.

Topic

[clem]

See the recent comments under this article: https://www.ganymede.tv/2025/09/the-ow-much-red-dwarf-convention/

[ListersGransBra]

Absolutely awful. So badly organised and managed. At one point on the Saturday, I queued for over an hour and a half for a bonus cast autograph which I didn’t end up getting, plus I’d been put in the wrong queue, then I gave that up and queued from 11:30 till 13:50 for a group photograph, which although I wasn’t expecting dinner and dancing, boiled down to “stand there. Smile. Right next person!!” then I had to wait an hour and half to get my photo, (people who were in front of me in the queue still hadn’t got theirs by closing time)

the cast (minus Craig because he had another dj set to do), ended up doing their q&a about 40 minutes late due to trying to catch up with autographs. 

The next day wasn’t much better, and it was only because me and another woman kicked up a fuss after being told we could just join the queue and get a main cast members autograph because we’d been in the cosplay competition, that we were allowed in and I got Robert’s autograph.

I managed to snag a ticket for Craig’s meet and greet because the husband of someone who worked there had to go home Ill and she randomly asked a group of us if anybody would like it. 

I was only there because there was so little to do, i figured I’d be just as well starting to queue for the bonus guest autograph session two hours early.   

The group who went in before us must have had at least twenty minutes. Our group got to ask about seven questions because they had to get Craig and Robert back doing auto graphs. 

The q&a on Sunday had been meant to start at 16:30 but I had to leave at 17:00 for my train and the boys from the dwarf were showing no signs of even being able to move from the autograph tables to go on stage. 

I adore Craig but he seemed hungover on the Sunday and seemed rather “refreshed” at the meet and greet. The fact that he was consistently siping from a glass of lager didn’t help. He was either drunk or that tired and hungover mood that sends the alcohol straight to your head after one drink. Either way it was a shame. he was chatty but it was very noticeable  

There was no organisation. Most of the people in the orange T-shirts were great. There was a gerodie woman with multi coloured hair who was a gem. Plus the dark haired lady overseeing the outside queueing Saturday afternoon. She practically had steam coming out of her ears but was as calm and helpful as she could be. The rest of them were about as much use as men’s tits, and don’t get me started on the higher ups  

Gold silver bronze and general admission where basically queueing together at the same time, until at some point, somone from Emcon would shout” gold vips” come to the front!” 😬🙄

there was a merchandise stall, and a stall with general scfi/ super hero prints, plus costumes on ropy looking mannequins.

The Canaries, the Trojan episode jumpsuit and series 8 lavender jumpsuit costumes didn’t have any sort of Info on them, so you didn’t know which characters costume it was  

In short, it was just fucking awful. 

They were so overwhelmed by the amount of people, plus the fact that they had a lot of trainees in, that they didn’t even bother going bag or body searches, and quite readily admitted that was the reason why. 

[wulbul]

Yeah… yeeeeah. 
The G&Ters were right. It was a horrific cash grab. 

The Saturday was hellish because of an unprecedented level of bad organisation, and while the Sunday “went exactly as planned” according to one organiser after the fact, it was still piss-poor as an experience. 

The After Party with Craig DJing was good craic, and he was great on the decks. The final panel was also good fun, and there was some very impressive cosplays out there – but mostly this was a dehumanising cattle market. 

Attendees herded through the stalls, roughly and according to caste. Guests hooked up to industrial milking machines in the signing sessions, and poor volunteers being used as scapegoats all day long while whoever was actually responsible for this *incredibly* expensive autograph signing hid in the shadows. 

Apparently this is what people like though? I’ve heard a lot of people saying already that they’re itching to come back next year based on how “good” the Sunday was? Bewildering. 

Also, they spent the entire event talking up next year’s convention as a 40th Anniversary celebration? Eh? Whit?

[Flap Jack]

Also, they spent the entire event talking up next year’s convention as a 40th Anniversary celebration? Eh? Whit?

I guess it would be the last convention before the anniversary, even if it’s not in the anniversary year itself?

[barbucha]

Red Dwarf Convention 2026: Between “Queuecon” Frustration and Intergalactic Joy

Over the weekend of July 18th–19th, 2026, the city of Nottingham became the temporary center of the universe for fans of a certain small, red mining ship. The Level Nottingham hosted the historic first “Official Red Dwarf Convention” under the direct banner of the Doug Naylor Company. While the event promised a “smeg-tastic” celebration of the show’s legendary legacy, the reality for the 1,000 attendees was a rollercoaster ride that veered between ecstatic fan encounters and a logistical “Queuecon” nightmare.

Saturday: The “Queuecon” Experience
Saturday was meant to be the big kickoff, but it quickly became a test of endurance. The organization was clearly under-dimensioned for a crowd of 1,000.

The Infinite Queues: We spent over two hours in a line for autographs, only to be told – just as we reached the front – that the session was over and the cast was moving to the photo ops.
The “Outdoor” Penalty: Because the lines were so long, they were snaked through the outdoor areas, meaning those waiting had zero chance to see the panels on the main stage or the Cosplay competition.
Missed Moments: We left the venue on Saturday evening feeling exhausted and bitter, having spent hours in lines without a single signature or seeing any of the scheduled program.

The only saving grace of the day was the Craig Charles Afterparty. Despite the grueling schedule, Craig had energy to spare, delivering a fantastic DJ set. The atmosphere in the club was a total 180-degree turn from the daytime chaos-friendly, relaxed, and genuinely fun.

Sunday: Redemption and Personal Connections
After a wave of negative feedback from fans on Saturday, the organizers scrambled to make amends. Priority vouchers given to those who missed out on Saturday made Sunday a much more bearable experience.
Meeting the Boys from the Dwarf: We finally got to greet Craig, Chris, Danny, Robert, and Doug Naylor himself. They signed our Red Dwarf Omnibus, and we were thrilled to gift them t-shirts featuring artwork by Dan Černý, which they genuinely seemed to love.
Danny’s Hospitality: Danny John-Jules proved once again why he is a fan favorite. When it was our turn, despite the pressure to move the line quickly, he invited us to sit on chairs right next to him at his signing table, introducing us to his friends who were accompanying him.
A Special Absence: Sadly, Norman Lovett could not attend due to an injury from a fall, and we all wish him a speedy recovery back to his stand-up best.

Raffle Luck and JMC Treasures
The Sunday panels provided some much-needed insight, particularly Doug Naylor’s session reminiscing about his early writing days and his friendship with Rob Grant. Even the main cast got in on the joke, with Craig Charles teasing the audience about how much they “enjoyed” standing in lines.

The highlight of the day, however, was the raffle. Against all odds, I won a framed picture from The Promised Land special. Realizing the logistical nightmare of flying home with a large framed picture, I managed to exchange it for an authentic JMC canister prop used during the filming of the show. It is a beautiful piece of television history that we are now eager to spot in actual episodes.

The Final Verdict
While the venue was a bit sparse on merchandise-boasting only a couple of stands, including the official merch where I snagged a “Starbug” shirt-the heart of the convention was the people. 

The Official Red Dwarf Convention 2026 was a weekend of two halves. The organizers clearly underestimated the scale of the task, leading to a Saturday that many fans dubbed “Queuecon.” However, the sheer warmth of the cast and the resilience of the fan community saved the event. We left Nottingham with incredible memories and a unique prop, but also with the hope that if there is a next time, the logistics are “lightyears ahead” of what we experienced this year.

[Dax101]

[si]

Robert Llewellyn’s posted a new Substack update today, which reflects on the weekend.
He ends by baiting us all with:

And as for doing more Red Dwarf, well, we are all still alive, we all have various ailments but we are all, generally speaking, in good health.

So, you never know.

But also, I think it’s doubtful.

…………….

Except 2028 will be the 40th anniversary of the first episode being broadcast. Just saying.

The tease.

[Rushy]

[Unrumble]

[Podey]

If anyone missed it, Doug popped up in the comments to say the con is wrong if they’re saying next year is the 40th. 

[paulf]

I couldn’t make it over from Australia and contacted the organisers to ask whether I could transfer my “bronze” ticket and Saturday night party ticket to someone for free but was told I could only resell it for face value on the site they suggested. Added the tickets to the site (well my wife did as I found it too depressing that I couldn’t attend) and ticked the open to offers box. I’m now feeling a bit guilty that I recouped most of my money. 

Everyone I was in contact with over the weekend tried to make the best of it but couldn’t help but compare it to the Dimension Jump days.  I think any convention is going to be disappointing after being so spoilt for so many years.

[wulbul]

I was never able to attend a DJ for various reasons over the years, and in general this was only my 2nd or 3rd convention, so I have no baseline of comparison or any let-down factor from being spoiled.

With that said, it was singularly, without comparison to anything else a very shit event.

I loved the (in total) 10 minutes I got to spend meeting the cast, as I never had before. But that was not worth the horror of the Saturday, nor the feeling of being massively ripped off for an event that had almost nothing to do *except* meet the cast.  

Sad times.

Wildly, they seem happy to plough ahead with the same organisers, who claim everything “went as planned” on the Sunday, for a 40th Anniverary celebration next year (on the 39th anniversary of broadcast), while they lay 99% of the blame on the venue, telling everyone that shifting to an ARENA next year will sort all the issues. 

All aboard the SS ClownShoe!

 

I couldn’t make it over from Australia and contacted the organisers to ask whether I could transfer my “bronze” ticket and Saturday night party ticket to someone for free but was told I could only resell it for face value on the site they suggested. Added the tickets to the site (well my wife did as I found it too depressing that I couldn’t attend) and ticked the open to offers box. I’m now feeling a bit guilty that I recouped most of my money. 
Everyone I was in contact with over the weekend tried to make the best of it but couldn’t help but compare it to the Dimension Jump days.  I think any convention is going to be disappointing after being so spoilt for so many years.

[Ace Austin]

I really agree with the person in Robert’s Substack comments who said this:

I sincerely hope that someone outside of the general fandom might
want to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the first episode by
producing the special Doug wrote that UKTV lost interest in. TLC seem to
be trying to get into the warm seat Dave has vacated now it’s
U&Dave and dropped their comedy output, so who knows…

TLC revived Mock The Week earlier this year and have since commissioned 5 more series. They seem to be using it to try and draw audiences to their new panel shows (one of which they commissioned a second extended series of before the first one went out so they’re certainly not short on money). Although they are only commissioning panel shows now, this time last year they hadn’t commissioned any comedy but have been expanding since so I think it’s only a matter of time until they do something scripted. I can’t see why Red Dwarf can’t be their scripted equivalent of Mock The Week, brining TLC high ratings whilst also giving them an opportunity to advertise their other shows.

[Dax101]

I think Panel shows are just much cheaper to produce than Red Dwarf was.

But Doug has always been very persistent in trying to get the show to continue, so even when fans lose faith and think well thats probably it, you know Doug is messaging Youtube Originals saying Hey guys, so about new red dwarf?

[Dave]

TLC revived Mock The Week earlier this year and have since commissioned 5 more series. They seem to be using it to try and draw audiences to their new panel shows (one of which they commissioned a second extended series of before the first one went out so they’re certainly not short on money). Although they are only commissioning panel shows now, this time last year they hadn’t commissioned any comedy but have been expanding since so I think it’s only a matter of time until they do something scripted. I can’t see why Red Dwarf can’t be their scripted equivalent of Mock The Week, brining TLC high ratings whilst also giving them an opportunity to advertise their other shows.

I assume the expense would be beyond them, but stranger things have happened I suppose. 

[JEMesis]

A youtube video focusing on the positives of the convention:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GX0p29MRO-U&pp=ygUUcmVkIGR3YXJmIGNvbnZlbnRpb24%3D

Two main cast Q and As:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=E22YOBpzRMA&pp=ygUUcmVkIGR3YXJmIGNvbnZlbnRpb24%3D

[Frank Lewis]

i didn’t have the foggest notion TLC had this one. I should check for it in the Listings.

I really agree with the person in Robert’s Substack comments who said this:

I sincerely hope that someone outside of the general fandom might
want to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the first episode by
producing the special Doug wrote that UKTV lost interest in. TLC seem to
be trying to get into the warm seat Dave has vacated now it’s
U&Dave and dropped their comedy output, so who knows…

TLC revived Mock The Week earlier this year and have since commissioned 5 more series. They seem to be using it to try and draw audiences to their new panel shows (one of which they commissioned a second extended series of before the first one went out so they’re certainly not short on money). Although they are only commissioning panel shows now, this time last year they hadn’t commissioned any comedy but have been expanding since so I think it’s only a matter of time until they do something scripted. I can’t see why Red Dwarf can’t be their scripted equivalent of Mock The Week, brining TLC high ratings whilst also giving them an opportunity to advertise their other shows.

[Author]

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