It was 1989 when Robert Llewellyn first had his head encased in the one-piece latex foam-rubber balaclava that is the head of Kryten inRed Dwarfseries three, and it gave him a distinctly funny turn.

Gazing at his own reflection and seeing the face of a mechanoid robot staring back was surprisingly scary, not to mention uncomfortable and rather sweaty. And he couldn't even eat his lunch.

Since then, he has sweated, frozen, been set on fire, exploded, spent thousands of hours in the make-up chair and thousands more being taunted by Craig Charles for being a middle-class b*****d. So it is a testament to the joyful camaraderie and life-enhancing silliness of the world ofRed Dwarfthat twenty-three years later, Robert is still willing to risk life, limb and hairline to don the rubber torture helmet forRed Dwarf X, the recent triumphant return of the motley band of space bums.

Originally published in 1993 after series six,The Man in the Rubber Maskhas now been completely updated with 43.7% extra smeg.

Robert Llewellyn is a novelist, actor, screenwriter, comedian and TV presenter. He wrote his first novel at the age of twelve and published his first grown-up work of fiction,The Man on Platform 5, only thirty years later. He has written stories, books, plays, sketches, and stand-up comedy routines.

He has appeared on British television regularly since 1987, including as Kryten inRed Dwarf, a presenter onScrapheap ChallengeandHow Do They Do It?, and on the popular video podcastsCarpoolandFully Charged.

He lives in Gloucestershire, where he drives an electric car and writes under a rack of solar panels.