The Red Dwarf crew will come back to Earth when the show returns this Easter, 21 years since the science fiction series first blasted off.

For eight series totalling 52 episodes Dave Lister wanted to return to his home planet. Now, at last, he has - in Red Dwarf: Back to Earth.

Written and directed by Red Dwarf co-creator Doug Naylor, the new show reunites Chris Barrie as Rimmer, Craig Charles as Lister, Danny John-Jules as Cat and Robert Llewellyn as Kryten.

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The two-part series Red Dwarf: Back to Earth, will kick start a Red Dwarf Easter weekend from Good Friday on TV channel Dave.

This will be followed by Red Dwarf: Unplugged, a "no holds barred" episode with no sets, no effects - and no autocue.

The weekend will climax with Red Dwarf: the Making of Back to Earth, a behind-the-scenes special from the new production.

Dave will reveal news snippets from the production at joindave.co.uk.

Red Dwarf is Dave's biggest commission yet and its first foray into scripted comedy.

The offbeat series, set in space, has enjoyed phenomenal success since it first aired in 1988 on BBC2.

It brought in more than eight million viewers for series eight, sold 7.25 million DVD and videos worldwide, broadcast in some 25 territories worldwide and won International Emmy and British Comedy Awards.

The actors have hit the headlines for various reasons since the show ended.

Charles now plays toyboy cabbie Lloyd in Coronation Street. In November last year, John-Jules was ordered to carry out 120 hours community service for assaulting two refuse collectors.