Fans will be treated to the first batch of new episodes in 10 years, thanks to the Dave channel making its first foray into original scripted programming.

Red Dwarf: Back To Earth is a three-part series, reuniting Dave Lister (Craig Charles), Arnold Rimmer (Chris Barrie), the Cat (Danny John-Jules) and Kryten (Robert Llewellyn).

As the title suggests, the new episodes see the inept crew finally achieve their goal, but in true Red Dwarf fashion, nothing is quite as it seems.

In the opening instalment, the gang are up to their old tricks, plodding around the universe in the grossly under-populated mining ship, until the discovery of a dimension-hopping creature in the ship's water tank threatens to change everything.

Such a long hiatus may make it surprising that the show ever came back at all, but Craig Charles says it has taken a step beyond its sitcom beginnings.

"This is Red Dwarf for the 21st century, this is not a situation comedy, this is comedy drama. It looks like it's shot on film, it looks like a film," he says.

"The performances are a lot more considered, it's not us running around shouting at each other and insulting each other any more, there's a lot of emotion, a lot of pathos."

Whereas earlier shows were filmed in front of a live studio audience, Craig says the new series has a more modern approach.

"Comedy has moved on and people don't need to be prompted when to laugh or to be told what's funny, they'll find it funny if they find it funny."

For those who don't know their skutters from their holoships, or their Blue Midgets from their Talkie Toasters, and are still none the wiser as to what all the fuss is about, then here's a brief recap.

Third technician Dave Lister was the lowest ranking crewmember on the city-sized mining spaceship Red Dwarf who, in the very first episode, was sentenced to be placed in suspended animation for the duration of the voyage after smuggling a cat on board.

However, during his incarceration, shoddy workmanship on the part of his loathed bunkmate and immediate superior Arnold Rimmer led to a radiation leak that wiped out the entire crew.

The onboard computer, Holly (originally played by Norman Lovett and later Hattie Hayridge), released Lister from stasis once the background radiation died down - three million years later.

Now the last human being in existence, Lister was joined by a hologram reincarnation of Rimmer (supposedly the best companion to help keep him sane); Cat, an evolved descendant of his former pet who also survived the catastrophe; and later the service mechanoid Kryten.

Setting course for the distant Earth, the crew faced time distortions, white holes, marauding cyborgs, bizarre genetically engineered life forms and even amoral future versions of their own selves along the way.

The last time we saw the gang they were trying to escape into a parallel reality and Rimmer had just kneed the Grim Reaper in the groin.

You might expect the characters to have changed in the intervening years, but Danny says the Cat is "pretty much the same guy".

"I was certainly wearing the same costume. Well, one of them is the exact costume I was wearing 10 years ago, so I just slipped straight back into it. I actually had two new ones made. The Cat always has to be a bit shiny, you know?"

The show was immensely popular in its initial run, but has always been seen as outside of the establishment.

"We were all at Shepperton the other day and we were looking at the viewing figures from 1997," Danny says.

"There we were at the top of BBC Two and we were looking at people that were 15 or 20 places below us who had just signed £5 million deals at the BBC and stuff like that. We'd never been so much as invited in for a cup of tea."

Could this cult status be one of the reasons why it has taken so long for the show to return to our screens?

"The only person who knows the truth of that is Doug and all the people at Grant Naylor," says Robert.

"We were very involved, after we finished the last series, which was 1998, 1999.

"There was a lot of talk and a lot of meetings about the movie and then in 2001 we started rehearsals for the movie and we had the script, which is brilliant - I'm so annoyed we never did it.

"I think it was just the financial struggle, to raise the money to do it. And then it kind of went off the boil for us.

"From what I can gather, the Dave thing happened very quickly. Dave had been showing repeats of Red Dwarf, which had been getting staggering figures and I think they were then looking to commission original material, and that was on the top of their list."

Chris is hopeful that the show is now back to stay.

"I think there's very much a feeling that this could be a new beginning. Obviously there are a lot of ifs and buts hanging around, but we all think it's going to be absolutely fantastic when it goes out," he says.

"I think it's some of the best Red Dwarf we've ever done, and, as I say, a lot of people on the inside think that as well, and given that, this could be the launching pad for a lot more."

Red Dwarf - Extra Time

The show first aired on BBC Two back in February 1988, but took a three-year hiatus between series six and seven.

Plans for a proposed ninth series were rejected by the BBC before Dave commissioned Red Dwarf: Back To Earth.

Alan Rickman and Alfred Molina auditioned for roles on the series and at one point Molina was set to play Rimmer.

Two pilots were created for US versions of Red Dwarf. Robert Llewellyn was set to reprise his role as Kryten, while at different stages Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Terry Farrell would play the Cat, Jane Leeves of Frasier fame would portray Holly and Craig Bierko, who played Geena Davis' psychotic ex-partner in The Long Kiss Goodnight, would star as Lister.