Biography

Immensely successful British comedy writer, co-creator (in partnership with Doug Naylor) of the cult space sitcom Red Dwarf (1988). The duo also collaborated on shows like Three of a Kind (1981) and Spitting Image (1984). On his own, Grant penned the sci-fi comedy The Strangerers (2000) and contributed scripts for Dark Ages (1999).

The son of Royal Navy man Robert Grant and his wife Lillian, Rob grew up within walking distance of the street originally used in filming exterior footage for the long-running soap Coronation Street (1960). Aged nine, he met and befriended his future writing partner Naylor while attending Chetham's School of Music. Both proceeded to (briefly) study psychology at Liverpool University before relocating to Manchester where they went on to share modest lodgings. Many early script ideas for comedy sketches forwarded to the BBC were rejected. Undeterred, both writers persisted, making ends meet by toiling in the IT department of a mail order warehouse. Their first successful submission was for a Chandleresque crime spoof which aired on BBC radio and earned them £49. This led to more regular work contributing both radio and TV scripts for popular British comics like Jasper Carrott and Bob Monkhouse.

Eventually based in London, the duo went on to devise the series Red Dwarf, first aired on BBC2 in February 1988 and intended as a kind of "Steptoe and Son in Space". The initial concept grew out of an ad hoc radio sketch entitled ‘Dave Hollins - Space Cadet’. That idea was expanded into the story of an inept, slobbish Technician Third Class (David Lister, played by Craig Charles) who awakens after being in stasis for three million years due to disciplinary transgressions, finding himself the only human survivor of the five-mile long mining spacecraft Red Dwarf. His only companions are a hologram of his obnoxious and pedantic ex-roommate Arnold Rimmer (Chris Barrie); Cat (Danny John-Jules), a human-feline hybrid evolved from a cat smuggled on board by Lister; Holly, a deadpan computer and sometime prankster (Norman Lovett) and Kryten (Robert Llewellyn), a servile sanitation droid with a guilt complex.

Though initially slow to pick up a larger viewing audience, the quirky series gained momentum after season three when it came under the auspices of Grant Naylor Productions in 1990. It has since assumed cult status, in addition to winning both an Emmy and a British Comedy Award in 1994. Grant left Red Dwarf at the end of Season 6 citing ‘creative differences’ with his erstwhile writing partner. Grant and Naylor have collaborated on several novelisations, including Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers (1989), Better than Life (1990), The Official Red Dwarf Companion (1992), Last Human (1995) and Backwards (1996). Grant’s latest project was the prequel Red Dwarf: Titan, due for publication in July 2026.

The comedic genius Rob Grant died unexpectedly on February 25 2026 aged 70.
- IMDb mini biography by: I.S.Mowis

Admitted to Robert Llewellyn in the YouTube version of Carpool (2010) that he can't bring himself to watch any Red Dwarf episodes made after he left. "It's like watching a video of your ex-wife's second honeymoon.".

Shares pseudonym Grant Naylor with Doug Naylor.

Co-founder of the production company, Grant Naylor Productions, with Doug Naylor.