Red Dwarf Creator Rob Grant Has Died — rob grant remembered
Rob Grant, the comedy writer best known as the co-creator of the long-running sitcom Red Dwarf, has died. rob grant was 70; a cause of death has not been made public.
Rob Grant's career
Grant was widely known as co-creator of Red Dwarf alongside Doug Naylor and was one of the main writers on Spitting Image for many years, writing regularly with Doug Naylor. He also wrote two other TV series, The Strangerers and Dark Ages, and authored a number of novels. One of his first jobs was writing for Jasper Carrot's show, Carrot's Lib.
Tributes and reactions
Craig Charles, who played Lister, posted: "Earlier today I was informed of the passing of @realrobgrant. i am in total shock. He was one of the funniest people I’ve ever met. A visionary. My heart goes out to his family and friends. The impact he and Doug had on the course of my life is immeasurable RIP ROB. " Actor Cameron Yarde wrote: "RIP Rob Grant. Co-creator of Red Dwarf with Doug Naylor, wrote for Spitting Image with Doug in its early years including The Chicken Song and wrote on the excellent Carrott's Lib. That's not just a career, that's a legacy. " The Official Red Dwarf Facebook page wrote: "We are devastated to learn of Rob’s passing and send love to his family and friends. He will always live on through his amazing creativity, storytelling and humour. Travel well, Sir"
Fan site and family statement
A dedicated fan site, Ganymede & Titan, shared a message from Rob's family that said: "With much sadness, we have to announce that Rob Grant, co-creator of Red Dwarf, passed away suddenly yesterday afternoon (Wednesday 25th February 2026), a great loss to his family, friends and comedy fans across the world. " The fan site added its own tribute: "We’re in too much shock to add much else right now, other than to pass on our sympathies and love to Rob’s family, friends, colleagues and fans. This is devastating news, and for it to have happened within a week of his first Red Dwarf novel for thirty years being officially announced is just the sort of cruel twist of fate that Rob delighted in inventing. We’ll have more to say over the coming days, weeks and months, to celebrate the life of a man whose imagination, creativity and humour was matched only by his kindness, friendliness and generosity. We will forever be grateful for the impact the world he co-created had on our lives, and honoured to have known him. " The fan site has gone down, presumably because so many fans were trying to find out more details.
Red Dwarf's origins and run
Red Dwarf emerged out of a sketch on the radio show Son of Cliche and launched in 1988 on the. The sitcom, which follows Dave Lister as the last living human aboard the Red Dwarf mining spaceship after he awakens three million years after suspended animation, made stars of Craig Charles, Chris Barrie, Robert Llewellyn and Danny John-Jules, as well as Hattie Hayridge and Norman Lovett. The show later moved to the channel Dave in 2009 and ran across 12 seasons and two specials, Back to Earth and the Promised Land, continuing to be watched by large, devoted audiences.
New novel Titan due in July
Grant's first Red Dwarf novel for thirty years, Titan, co-credited to Andrew Marshall, had recently been announced and is due to be published in July. Rob spoke to the Radio Times in an interview published last weekend about the upcoming novel, which is a prequel to his beloved show, and said he hoped it could be adapted for its own TV show. He said: "We originally wrote it as a treatment for a TV spin-off and took it around, but it's horribly expensive, and we couldn't really raise enough interest. " He added: "We might down the line… we've been talking to streamers about it but, when you read it, [you'll re" (quote truncated in the original).
Public response and personal note
Many people took to comments responding to Craig Charles's post. Stuart said: "Incredibly sad news"; Steve added: "Oh no, condolences to all of the Red Dwarf folks"; Matthew posted: "This was totally unexpected, condolences to his family and to you and your colleagues"; Chantal commented: "I’m very sad to hear that, and I’m sorry for your and the red dwarf posse’s loss. " Chris posted: "So sad, what a gift Rob and Doug gave to the world with Dwarf. RIP"; Rob said: "Incredibly sad news. He gave us all a wonderful reason to laugh for which we'll be forever grateful. Thoughts with his family and friends. RIP. " Alan added: "Sad news. Thank you Rob, Rest in Peace. " Greg posted: "Such sad news, sorry for your loss, thank you for the laughs @realrobgrant RIP"
On a personal note, the writer of one report said they worked with Rob and Doug to write The Official Red Dwarf Companion and found them "great company, a great double act, and, above all, devoted to the art of making people laugh. "
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