Red Dwarf poised to return for another series on Dave

While UKTV which makes the show is not able to confirm a thirteenth series, the cast and writer Doug Naylor are confident that it is just a formality with Naylor already hard at work writing the scripts for series 13.

He told RadioTimes.com that he has been writing scripts for the next run for weeks, adding that “the chances are high to certain” of a series 13 commission.

• Johnny Vegas makes his Red Dwarf debut
• Red Dwarf: series twelve overview
• Red Dwarf: series eleven overview

Star Craig Charles added: “I think we’re going to do one. I think we’d like to do as many as we possibly could.”

Could there be another 30 years of the Dwarfers? “I’d be dead for 20 of them,” laughed Charles. “Maybe they could CGI us in. In the future, anything is possible”.

Naylor and the cast are also planning on a Red Dwarf live tour – “a tour that doesn’t really move too far,” jokes Charles. “We want to do as much as we possibly can as we’re running out of time. Have you seen the look of us?”

Tonight’s series 12 finale saw the crew afflicted by a tear in time which meant that Chris Barrie’s hologrammatical horror Rimmer sampled alternative lives in various universes and honestly reflected on the inner workings of what passes for his soul.

This saw him encounter a new-look Cat (Danny John-Jules) and Lister in the intriguing fresh guise of a suave careerist – plus the long-awaited return of the original incarnation of the much-loved space computer Holly, played by Norman Lovett in series one and two.

On the prospect of another series, a UKTV spokesman said: “Red Dwarf has gone down incredibly well with viewers and we are immensely proud of the show. We are in talks with Doug about more scripts, but haven’t commissioned a series yet.”