Red Dwarf: 11 Episodes That Never Made It To Air

The first episode to focus on the Cat, John McKay's Identity Within would have seen the Cat suffer from a condition that would kill him unless he had sex, causing the crew to try and find him a mate at a GELF slave auction. The story would also have touched on the idea of the Cat having become more domesticated, while a later draft included his dorky alter-ego Duane Dibbley in a dream sequence.

A full draft was written by McKay but a significant portion of the Series 7 budget was already spoken for (thanks in part to the various settings of the opening episodes Tikka To Ride and Stoke Me A Clipper), and Identity Within was just too costly. Particularly the need for two key guest stars (provisionally cast with Series 8 actors Yasmin Bannerman and Graham McTavish), a crowded tavern set, and a new eight foot tall subspecies of GELFs.

When it became clear that Identity Within couldn’t be achieved with the available budget, it was dropped and replaced with Duct Soup. An episode that, in a grand old sitcom tradition, was written to be as cheap as possible. But worry ye not, smegheads. A storyboarded version of Identity Within's first draft was released on the Series 7 DVD with Chris Barrie doing the voices. Yes, even Ora the female Cat.