Coronation Street star concerns fans as they pull out of event after family emergency

Coronation Streetstar Craig Charles concerned fans after he pulled out of his scheduled appearance at London Film and Comic-Con this weekend. The 60-year-old actor is best known for playing Lloyd Mullaney for a decade on the long-running soap, but was due to appear at the event for his Red Dwarf character, Dave Lister.

The star was due to appear alongside Red Dwarf co-stars Danny John-Jules, Robert Llewellyn and Hattie Hayridge. Taking to their Facebook page, London Film and Comic-Con wrote: "We contacted Craig at 9am to be told that due to a family emergency, he would not be in until 11am. At 11.30am we spent 20 minutes knocking on his hotel room door where there was no answer.

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"His Red Dwarf colleagues were able to contact him at 12.30, where he confirmed he was ill and unable to attend. These are the facts.

"The Group shot will go ahead with Danny, Robert and Hattie, and ticket holders will receive an automatic £60 refund to allow for the change of lineup. If anybody does not want the group shot, any unused tickets will automatically be refunded after the show."

Not long after the post was shared, Craig took to his X/Twitter to apologise to fans, writing: "I’d just like to say sorry to showmasters and the fans at comicon. I made it to the hotel but woke up at 3 this morning with stomach pains.

"I then proceeded to be violently ill for hours. Not a pretty sight. I tried to see if it would wear off but at 10 am I called it off and came back to Manchester.

"I’m feeling slightly better now, and I’m drinking lots of water and electrolytes. Again sorry for the cancellation and I look forward to next time."

Fans rushed to the comment section to share their support, with one fan posting: "Hope you feel better.

"You don’t have anything to apologise for trust me someone that just got food poisoning two days ago I know exactly what you mean by coming down with something very quickly."

Another concerned fans posted: "Take care of yourself. I've been watching you as Dave Lister since I was a child, Red Dwarf was and is still my favorite show.

"Lister inspired my love for curry and good tunes. It may be sad, but you were the closest thing I had to a father figure. Love from America, my guy."

One commented: "As long as you're on the mend that's the main thing." Red Dwarf is a sci-fi comedy that aired between 1988 and 1999, which follows technician Dave Lister, who awakens after being suspended animation for three million years to find that he is the last living human and that he's alone on the mining spacecraft.

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