Obituary: Rob Grant Features Posted by Ian Symes on 1st March 2026, 16:08 Pioneering comedy writer, best-selling author, and co-creator of Red Dwarf, Rob Grant has died, aged 70. Rob was born in Salford, Greater Manchester in September 1955, and grew up a stone's throw from the original exterior location for Coronation Street, if you want to get a picture of how his upbringing looked. Aged nine, he won a scholarship to Chetham's Hospital School, and on his very first day at the private music school, he met fellow pupil Doug Naylor. It was a chance coming together that had an immeasurable impact on the future of British comedy, not to mention the lives of thousands, if not millions of future fans. Read more →
Peter Ridsdale-Scott RIP News Posted by Ian Symes on 9th February 2026, 12:10 News has only just reached us, via Paul Muller on our forum, that the great Peter Ridsdale-Scott passed away on Christmas Day 2025, as announced on his website. Peter was a giant of British television, hugely popular and well respected. After starting out as a jobbing actor in his native Blackpool, he worked his way through the ranks behind the scenes at the BBC in London, where he ended up as a writer, director and producer of children’s programmes, including thousands of episodes of the iconic Play School. He then moved to Manchester to take up an executive producer role on programmes such as Cheggers Plays Pop and EBC1: Emu’s Broadcasting Company, before becoming the Commissioning Editor for BBC North West. Having been approached by Paul Jackson, Peter was the first commissioner to see the potential in the Red Dwarf pilot script, which had already been rejected multiple times by his counterparts in London. It was Peter who green lit the series, put his faith in the relatively unproven Rob, Doug and Ed, signed off on the casting, championed the show within the BBC, and fought for it to be remounted after the initial production was halted by a technician’s strike. While actors, writers, directors and producers are the first to be praised for their successes, none of them can do their jobs without a commissioning editor who believes in the project, takes risks, and makes things happen. Quite simply, if it wasn’t for Peter Ridsdale-Scott, there would be no Red Dwarf. None of us would be reading this website today. The friendships, relationships and offspring that have been born from the show over the last 38 years wouldn’t exist. We owe him everything. We celebrate his vision and determination, and we will remember him. His contribution to Launching Red Dwarf, the documentary on the Series 1 DVD, is already legendary, showcasing his enthusiasm and love for the show in the most endearing way. He also took part in The First Three Million Years in 2020, and did a Mr Flibble interview back in 2002. And if you want to see him in his element, he took a starring role in a fascinating BBC training film on videotape editing, in his days as Play School director. Plus of course, he’s immortalised in Red Dwarf itself, as the inspiration behind Chris Barrie’s performance as Brannigan, the ship’s psychiatrist, in Queeg. Peter Ridsdale-Scott may now be late, but he was so good. He was brilliant.
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.
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.
Tony Slattery RIP News Posted by Ian Symes on 14th January 2025, 14:12 We have some very sad news to report. As announced by his team on his Patreon, Tony Slattery has passed away following a heart attack, aged just 65. Tony was at one stage one of the most ubiquitous figures on British television, having risen to fame as the breakout star of Whose Line Is It Anyway?. Panel show infamy soon followed, including multiple guest slots in the early days of Have I Got News For You, a stint as a team captain on the TV version of Just A Minute and hosting Channel 4’s The Music Game. His acting roles included the movies The Crying Game and Peter’s Friends, his own sitcom Just A Gigolo and of course Red Dwarf. One of the rare performers to have played two different characters on the show, he started off as the voice of the android actor in Kryten, before returning as Rimmer’s nemesis dispensing machine in Only The Good… He’ll be remembered as one of the most talented improvisers the world of comedy has ever seen. Sadly, he’ll also be remembered for his well-documented fall from these huge heights. He suffered terribly with depression and substance addiction, eventually being diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Those who attended Dimension Jump in 2018 can’t have failed to spot that these issues were still evident at that point. There was a very clear sense that he wasn’t being supported in the way he both needed and deserved, and that those who were supposed to be looking after him were doing nothing of the sort. Things seemed to be improving in recent years, with Tony’s public appearances becoming both more common and more coherent. It’s an absolute tragedy – if not a total surprise – that this brilliant genius has left us so soon, and that he’s done so without ever getting the opportunity to bounce all the way back. It’s abundantly clear from the tributes being left online in the last hour or so that Tony was incredibly well loved, with fans and fellow comedians alike sharing their stories. If nothing else, the incongruity of his current Twitter banner would have amused him, I think. Rest in peace, Tony.
John Pomphrey RIP News Posted by Ian Symes on 3rd November 2023, 20:35 Doug Naylor has shared the sad news on Twitter that John Pomphrey, Red Dwarf's original lighting director, has passed away. So sad to hear Red Dwarf’s brilliant lighting director John Pomphrey has passed away. John only got the job because no one else in the lighting dept at BBC Manchester wanted it. John went on to light up our universe. A truly lovely man + a great lighting director. @Reddwarf pic.twitter.com/iSYK4Bem0J — Doug Naylor (@DougRDNaylor) November 3, 2023 Read more →
Stephen Critchlow RIP News Posted by Ian Symes on 19th September 2021, 20:56 We’re very sad to report the terrible news that Stephen Critchlow has died, aged just 54. We know him best for his role as Captain Herring in Series XI’s Officer Rimmer, one of our favourite guest characters of the modern era. His superb comic timing and the contrast between his plummy officer persona and the ridiculousness of his appearance made for a memorable and hilarious character. He’s also fondly remembered as a guest at Dimension Jump XIX, where he was generous with his time, brilliant in his Q&A and enthusiastic when meeting fans – one of those guests that really seemed like they were having a great time too. The following year, he was one of many guest stars to send in a video message to celebrate Red Dwarf‘s thirtieth anniversary, in which his charm and enthusiasm shone through. He’s also well known to Doctor Who fans, having performed dozens of roles for Big Finish, displaying his skills as a voice actor and narrator. As well as many television parts, the stage was perhaps his forte, from rep to touring to the West End. Plus of course, we were amused that his appearance in Red Dwarf meant that, following Philip Labey, both stars of the long-running Oak Furniture Land adverts had been in the show. Tributes from those who worked with him have come thick and fast, and speak of someone who always lit up a green room with his warmth and humour. A truly popular man who touched a lot of lives. RIP Critch.
Bill Pearson RIP News Posted by Ian Symes on 25th March 2020, 13:24 We're all very sad to hear the news that Bill Pearson, one of the all-time greats of the British visual effects industry, has passed away. As part of a long career in film and TV, which took in such classics and cult favourites as Alien, Flash Gordon, Space Precinct, Casino Royale and Moon, his contribution to Red Dwarf was the stuff of legend. He first joined the team for Series IV, working on set dressing and handheld props up to and including Series VI. He returned for Series VIII as the visual effects designer, with perhaps his finest and most memorable triumph being the Starbug crash and explosion from Back In The Red (Part One). His ability to work to a limited time and budget was also in evidence; he famously agreed to knock up an escape pod for Only The Good for the cost of a bottle of wine, only to be presented with a full crate as a token of Doug's appreciation. Read more →
Charles Armitage RIP News Posted by Ian Symes on 8th February 2017, 11:59 We were shocked and saddened to hear today, via this emergency TOS article, that Charles Armitage passed away on Monday 6th February. Read more →
Gareth Gwenlan RIP News Posted by Ian Symes on 9th May 2016, 13:23 We're sad to note the death of the hugely influential comedy producer and commissioner Gareth Gwenlan, aged 79. And on the same day as Reg Grundy, who was in many ways the real life equivalent of Kylie Gwenlyn. Yes, despite Gwenlan not having directly worked on Red Dwarf, we feel the need to mark his passing due to the way the show immortalised him, both on screen and in behind-the-scenes folklore, as being intrinsically linked to the programme's fledgling fortunes in those early days. As well as being the inspiration for the producer/director of Androids, the same episode, Kryten, sees Lister use his name as insult, calling the eponymous character a "total Gwenlan". The reason for Rob and Doug's apparent lack of affection for the man was that, as the BBC's Head of Comedy between 1983 and 1990, he had turned down Red Dwarf several times. One notorious meeting is recounted by Rob Grant on the Six of the Best CD: Read more →
