Disclaimer: this is a personal post, and does not represent the views of the BBC.
What do most people use YouTube for? Surely, EVERYBODY uses it for the exact reason I do: to watch lots of lovely old BBC2 continuity from 1992. Such as the below video, uploaded by Andrew Wiseman. The whole thing is well worth watching; I particularly like the trail for The Addams Family. Or perhaps I just like the idea of TV channels showing The Addams Family.
But the interesting part of this video for our purposes today is right at the beginning: it starts with the original network continuity into the Red Dwarf episode “Holoship”, broadcast on the 20th February 1992. Sadly, the recording is not quite complete – some words are missing at the front – but it’s mostly there. Your announcer is Halyna Kozak.
“…Red Dwarf return for another tour of duty around the outer regions of human imagination, proving that love can even conquer uncharted space.”
A lovely announcement, for one of the most romantic episodes Red Dwarf ever did.
* * *
How many times has the episode “Holoship” been broadcast on the BBC over the years?
For the answer, we have to check Christopher Wickham’s Red Dwarf BBC Broadcasts Guide. So after its 1992 premiere, it was shown again on 26th March 1993, the 2nd September 1994, and the 24th December 2003. Oh, and the 13th August 2026. Nearly 35 years after its first broadcast, and well over 20 years since it was last shown on BBC Two.
So I thought it might be nice to do something fun.
Which is why, for this latest transmission, BBC Two network used the exact same ident in front of the programme which was used when the show first aired back in 1992: Copper Cutout. It also used an adapted version of the original continuity script, with the missing opening words filled in to the best of my ability.
Your 2026 network announcer for this recreated piece of continuity is Nicola Phoenix.
Of course, BBC Two Northern Ireland joined in the fun:
And brilliantly, BBC Two Wales – by complete coincidence – had the same announcer on shift in 1992 and 2026, Mark James:
I hope, if you’re the kind of person who reads Dirty Feed, you enjoyed all that as much as I did.
* * *
Some of you may remember that back in 2023, I was involved in something similar with a repeat of the first episode of Red Dwarf. Back then, I said:
“Sure, the above is a silly piece of nonsense. Vanishingly few people would have realised what we had done. But silly though it may be, I also find it weirdly emotional too. Joining the dots across 35 years on the channel feels like it means something. An awareness of the history of the channel, and of the show, rather than just blasting out another 30 minutes of content.
Television could perhaps do with a bit more of that.”
I still feel the above, perhaps even more so. But what I find fun about the “Holoship” introduction this time around, going one step further and using a retro ident as well as an adaptation of the original continuity script, is that it really does work on multiple levels.
For deep Red Dwarf nerds, who hunt out and care about what the original continuity into the show was, hopefully they will recognise it and get a warm fuzzy feeling. A more general audience will recognise the old ident, and simply enjoy the “flashback to the 90s” vibe, which the newly-written opening to the announcement sets up nicely. And plenty of people won’t notice there’s anything different going on at all… but crucially, the original continuity script works on its own terms to introduce the show. Whichever level you’re watching on, it does the job.
Having fun with things like this doesn’t mean only speaking to a tiny part of the audience. Done correctly, you can still manage to speak to everybody.