Red Dwarf returns

After a ten-year hiatus the crew of the mining vessel Red Dwarf are finally back. In only four episodes, but still they are coming back.

The 52 episode series aired on BBC2 from 1988 to 1999. And in syndication in North America ever since PBS introduced us to it.

"The level of excitement has been huge and we're very confident there'll still be a big audience for it," says Lisa Perrin, director of commissioning for entertainment at UKTV. Perrin will hope the show repeats the success of Doctor Who, which made a barnstorming return to the small screen after an even longer hiatus.

SUSPENDED ANIMATION: WHAT THE RED DWARF STARS DID NEXT

Craig Charles (Dave Lister)
The actor joined Coronation Street in 2005 as charming cabbie Lloyd but was suspended from the show in 2006 after the 'Mirror' claimed he'd smoked crack cocaine during a cab journey. He was later cautioned by police for possession of a class A drug, but returned to the soap. In 1994, while Red Dwarf was still in production, he was accused of rape but was cleared at trial the following year.

Chris Barrie (Arnold Rimmer)
Appeared as Angelina Jolie's sidekick Hillary in both Tomb Raider movies and made a cameo in an episode of the ITV crime series Midsomer Murders before becoming a television presenter for the Discovery Channel. He hosted three seasons of the engineering series Massive and writes about classic cars for a motoring magazine.

Danny John-Jules (Cat)
Plays an undercover secret agent who mentors three teenage spies while pretending to be a school janitor in the popular BBC children's television series M.I. High. John-Jules's off-screen life took a dramatic twist earlier this year when he was arrested after allegedly threatening a binman with a knife following an altercation in north-west London, for which he faces trial.

Robert Llewellyn (Kryten)
Presents the Channel 4 series Scrapheap Challenge, which sees him looking on as teams of competitors attempt to build everything from powerboats to motorbikes from items found on a scrapheap. He starred alongside his Red Dwarf co-star Danny John-Jules in M.I. High, playing an unfortunate British Prime Minister who is cloned.

Hattie Hayridge (Holly)
The comedian has done gigs across the country in recent years. Reviewing her Edinburgh Fringe show in 2007, Julian Hall of The Independent noted her "surprising edge" and "delicious one-liners". She has published her autobiography, appeared in the BBC series Jonathan Creek and penned material for comedians such as Jasper Carrott and Lee Evans.