Alan Rickman and Alfred Molina both auditioned for the role of Rimmer, with Molina initially being cast before struggling with the concept of the show, leading to Chris Barrie taking over the part.

Craig Charles was consulted by the production team about whether the 'Cat' character might be seen as racist before he decided to audition for the role of Dave Lister instead.

Danny John-Jules arrived half an hour late to his audition for the Cat but immediately stood out by showing up in character wearing his father's 1950s-style zoot suit, having also researched the role by reading Desmond Morris's book Catwatching.

The concept for Red Dwarf originated from the sketch series Dave Hollins: Space Cadet on BBC Radio 4's Son of Cliché in the mid-1980s, and the pilot script was written in 1984 but initially rejected by the BBC over fears a sci-fi sitcom wouldn't be popular.

Production of the pilot was halted by an electricians' strike during rehearsals in early 1987, forcing filming to be rescheduled from that point to September before the show finally aired in February 1988.

When the show won an International Emmy in 1994, co-creator Doug Naylor's attempt to get the BBC to invite the cast to a celebratory party failed because the BBC objected to including Craig Charles and Danny John-Jules, claiming they were 'fire risks'.

Danny John-Jules, credited as 'The Cat', re-orchestrated and released the show's song 'Tongue Tied' as a single in 1993, which reached number 17 on the UK charts.

An American pilot for 'Red Dwarf USA' was produced for NBC in 1992 with an all-white cast (dubbed 'White Dwarf' by Craig Charles), and after poor reception a hastily reshot second pilot with new actors was made in a small studio, but the show was never picked up or broadcast.

In the 2004 documentary Dwarfing USA, Danny John-Jules suggested that only John Belushi could have successfully played an American version of Lister, a sentiment echoed by American Lister actor Craig Bierko in a 2009 interview.