---
name: "Rob Grant"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/rob-grant"
roles: ["Producer","Director"]
born: "25 September 1955"
died: "25 February 2026"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_as: "producer"
average_over: 0
updated: "2026-09-16T21:21:04.900757+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Rob Grant

Producer and director. Born 25 September 1955 in Salford, Lancashire, England, UK. Died 25 February 2026.

## Details

- **Work:** Producer, Director
- **Born:** 25 September 1955, Salford, Lancashire, England, UK
- **Died:** 25 February 2026
- **Elsewhere:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7340163, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0335621/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1215631

## Streaming the US now

- **Apple TV:** [*Red Dwarf*](https://film.one/tv/red-dwarf.md) (80)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Rob Grant

> Rob Grant understood that a science-fiction sitcom needed people worth listening to between the ideas. We recommend *Red Dwarf* for its bickering partnership, with a warning that the standard varies across its run.

Dave Lister and Arnold Rimmer have science-fiction problems to contend with, yet neither can stop finding the other irritating. That is the chief pleasure of *Red Dwarf* (1988), created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor. We laughed at Lister and Rimmer because no change of circumstances seems sufficient to make them stop quarrelling. Craig Charles and Chris Barrie make the persistence funny rather than merely wearing. At its strongest, the programme has us waiting for the next exchange as eagerly as the next science-fiction idea.

Grant came to the series after radio sketches and *Spitting Image*, and his contribution extended beyond the scripts. He and Naylor began producing from series three and directed some episodes. Even so, we value this work chiefly for the writing and the opportunities it gives the performers. The characters are allowed to remain difficult company, without the jokes requiring us to stop enjoying their company ourselves. Grant and Naylor understand how much can be done with people who simply cannot get along.

The partnership ended after series six, and Grant's subsequent work continued in science-fiction comedy and television. The solo novel *Backwards* (1996) retained the connection to *Red Dwarf*, while he also created *Dark Ages* (1999) and *The Strangerers* (2000). Those credits widen the picture beyond the one programme, though *Red Dwarf* remains the work on which our recommendation rests. His strength there is knowing that a fantastical premise still needs an amusing conversation if we are going to spend much time with it.

The recommendation comes with a substantial caveat: *Red Dwarf* varies considerably across its run. Since Grant's partnership with Naylor ended after series six, that unevenness cannot all sensibly be assigned to him, but neither does affection oblige us to overlook it. Start with *Red Dwarf*, but do not mistake our affection for a guarantee about every episode.

## Biography

Rob Grant (1955–2026) was an English comedy writer, television producer and co-creator of the science-fiction sitcom *Red Dwarf*. He formed a long-running writing partnership with Doug Naylor, known as Grant Naylor, and the pair created the series, which first aired on BBC Two in 1988. Grant contributed as writer, and later as producer from the third series and director on some episodes.

Before *Red Dwarf*, Grant and Naylor worked as head writers on the satirical puppet show *Spitting Image*. After leaving the partnership in the mid-1990s, Grant created the series *Dark Ages* (1999) and *The Strangerers* (2000), and wrote several novels including *Backwards* (1996), *Colony* (2000), *Incompetence* (2003) and *Fat* (2006).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, telegraph.co.uk, reddwarf.co.uk.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Red Dwarf* (1988), Fi1m 80, Writer, Producer, Director, Executive Producer, Creator — [page](https://film.one/tv/red-dwarf.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/rob-grant