A taste of sci-fi came to John Lewis in Kingston earlier this month, when the department store was used to film new episodes of Red Dwarf.

Actors including Craig Charles, Chris Barrie and Robert Llewellyn were filming the show’s Back to Earth trilogy, with the store doubling up as the fictional “Price Smashers”.

The filming was done while the store was shut on a Monday evening and Sunday morning but some customers got a sneaky peak of the action as filming was done in the restaurant.

More than a dozen members of staff featured as extras, witnessing the characters sliding along the floor at high speed, smashing up signs and crashing into tables.

John Lewis is understood to have been chosen after the location manager was shopping in the store and liked the high ceilings and open layout.

It is not the first time it has been used as a film set. BBC Three “make-under” show Snog, Marry, Avoid came to the shop in January, Primeval filmed dinosaur adventures there and scenes from The Bill and the latest Pringles advert have been shot immediately outside recently.

Red Dwarf: Back to Earth will be screened on digital channel Dave over the Easter weekend.