Craig Charles: 'New Red Dwarf next year'

Craig Charles has revealed that work on a new series of Red Dwarf will begin in the autumn.

Producer Andrew Ellard previously declared that another series of the cult comedy was in development, and Charles has now confirmed that the show will return to screens next year.

Charles, who played Lister in the BBC sci-fi, said that the success of 2009's three-part Red Dwarf: Back To Earth, which was commissioned by Freeview channel Dave, was a key factor in the show being resurrected for another series.

The actor told Real Radio: "It did really well, which was really quite weird because we all thought we were just doing it for a laugh. It got more viewers than BBC Two and Channel 4 combined on the night, which is really good!

"So they've just commissioned another series of Red Dwarf. We're gonna film at the end of November, December and January."

According to the Daily Mail, Charles went on to insist that it would not be worth revisiting the series unless the scripts are as good as they were in the show's heyday.

When asked if there was still a place for Red Dwarf on TV, the actor replied: "Well, yes - only if it's still as funny as it used to be.

"We've got to recapture the highlights, like series five, series six, that kind of stuff. If we can hit that mark then brilliant. There's no point doing it if it's a bit so-so."