Red Dwarf returns: Filming to begin on two new series due to be aired on Dave from next year

UKTV asked for new series to be produced back in 2012

Craig Charles as Dave Lister, Robert Llewellyn as Kryten and Chris Barrie as Arnold Rimmer

(Stuart Wilson/Getty Images)

The Emmy Award winning sci-fi comedy Red Dwarf is to return - series XI and XII are due to be broadcast on Dave in 2016 and 2017, with filming beginning later next year.

The show’s reprisal will see the four haphazard space explorers - Craig Charles (Lister), Chris Barrie (Rimmer), Danny John-Jules (Cat) and Robert Llewellyn (Kryten) - join forces once more as they continue their galactic adventures.

Charles will be leaving his ten-year stint on Coronation Street to take part in the revival.

According to Digital Spy, he said: “I have had an absolutely fantastic ten years on Coronation Street and I will be very sad to leave. Lloyd has become a huge part of my life and I have made some amazing friends with whom I will always keep in touch.

(Stuart Wilson/Getty Images)

"But I feel I owe it to my colleagues on Red Dwarf to join them in filming the new series and finding out what is in store for Lister and the others. I would love to return to Coronation Street at some point in the future.“

The two new series will be produced back to back, with shooting scheduled to begin later this year.

Red Dwarf XI and XII are written and directed by Doug Naylor, who regrets that the new series took so long to become a reality.

He suggested that UKTV asked for new series to be produced back in 2012.

“Frustratingly it's taken until now to get our ducks in a row and all the boys available at the same time. Now they are, we're all absolutely delighted, ”he said.

Red Dwarf has enjoyed significant success since it first aired in 1988 on BBC2.

It brought in more than eight million viewers for series eight, sold over 11.5 million DVD and videos worldwide, broadcast in some 25 territories worldwide and won International Emmy and British Comedy Awards.