Writer Doug Naylor reveals he was told to stop work in the script

Plans for another 90-minute Red Dwarf special have been quietly dropped, writer Doug Naylor has revealed.

The series co-creator said that in 2023 he was asked to write a new feature-length episode for UKTV, following the success of the 2020 special The Promised Land.

However, the broadcaster subsequently told him to stop work on the script as it was no longer commissioning scripted comedy.

Taking part in an 'ask me anything' thread on Reddit at the weekend, Naylor 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.’

Naylor also revealed the planned storyline, saying: ‘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.’ 

JMC is the Jupiter Mining Corporation, owner of the Red Dwarf spaceship.

UKTV confirmed the cancellation, saying: 'UKTV has no current plans to commission further episodes of Red Dwarf. It's been a privilege to work with Doug Naylor and the cast in a relationship that began with the Back To Earth specials, which premiered to 4 million viewers, and has subsequently produced three full series, a retrospective and Red Dwarf's first ever feature length, The Promised Land.'

Naylor took to Reddit to promote his new children’s novel Sin Bin Island, which is being published on Thursday by David Fickling Books.

Naylor created Red Dwarf with Rob Grant and it ran on the BBC for eight series from 1988 to 1999. It was then revived by UKTV's Dave in 2009 for four series and the Promised Land special, which attracted 1.7million viewers according to consolidated figures. 

All episodes featured Chris Barrie as Rimmer, Craig Charles as Lister, Danny John-Jules as Cat and Robert Llewellyn as the sanitation droid Kryten.

Published: 8 Sep 2025