Precoloring extension on unit interval graphs

In the precoloring extension problem a graph is given with some of the vertices having preassigned colors and it has to be decided whether this coloring can be extended to a proper k-coloring of the graph. Answering an open question of Hujter and Tuza [Precoloring extension. III. Classes of perfect graphs, Combin. Probab. Comput. 5 (1) (1996) 35–56], we show that the precoloring extension problem is NP-complete on unit interval graphs.