Red Dwarf to return to screens next year

'Red Dwarf' is to return to TV screens next year.

The cult comedy - which originally aired on BBC Two in the 80s and 90s - is to be revamped by cable channel Dave, starring 'Coronation Street' actor Craig Charles as curry-loving crew member Dave Lister, Chris Barrie as his bunk-mate Arnold Rimmer and Danny John-Jules as humanoid creature The Cat.

Craig - who plays cheeky cabbie Lloyd Mullaney in 'Corrie' - explained the cast are hoping to "recapture" the essence of the most successful series of the original 'Red Dwarf'.

He said: "We're all quite like our characters - we're caricatures of ourselves. We've got to recapture the highlights, like series five or six.

"If we can hit that mark, then brilliant. There's no point doing it if it's so-so."

Craig explained the return of the series came about after bosses at Dave were impressed by a 2009 special - entitled 'Red Dwarf: Back To Earth' - drew in more than three million viewers, beating BBC Two and Channel 4's combined ratings for the night.

He added: "It got more viewers than BBC2 and Channel 4 combined on the night, which is really good. So they've just commissioned another series of 'Red Dwarf'."