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Red Dwarf co-creator Rob Grant has died, his family have confirmed.
The TV 'visionary' passed away 'suddenly' on Wednesday a statement has revealed.
'With much sadness, we have to announce that Rob Grant, co-creator of Red Dwarf, passed away suddenly yesterday afternoon (25/02/26), a great loss to his family, friends and comedy fans across the world,' his family wrote.
Craig Charles, who starred in Red Dwarf, led tributes, writing online: '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'
Grant and Doug Naylor were co-creators of the British comedy series that aired on Two from 1988 to 1999 and was later revived by channel Dave from 2009 to 2020.
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Red Dwarf co-creator Rob Grant has died, his family have confirmed
Grant and Doug Naylor were co-creators of the British comedy series that aired on BBC Two from 1988 to 1999 and was later revived by channel Dave from 2009 to 2020
Rob started his career on radio programmes including BBC’s Son of Cliche as well as TV shows such as Spitting Image and The 10 Percenters. But he is best known for the beloved sitcom Red Dwarf.
Just days ago he admitted he has had talks about a reboot - starring a brand new cast.
Having launched in 1988, the show has aired on both the and later Dave from 2009 to 2020.
The premise follows Dave Lister (Craig Charles), a lowly technician on a spacecraft, who is the last living human after being in suspended animation for three years.
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Other key characters include Lister's hologram frenemy Rimmer (Chris Barrie) and Cat (Danny John-Jules), who evolved from Lister's pregnant feline.
Speaking to Radio Times earlier this week, Rob hinted the iconic characters could be returning to screens.
He addressed whether Titan - a prequel book set for release in July - could be adapted for the screen.
Rob said: 'Yes! We [he and co-writer Andrew Marshall] 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.’
Red Dwarf follows Dave Lister (Craig Charles), who wakes from suspended animation after three million years to discover he is the last surviving human
He added: ‘We might down the line… we’ve been talking to streamers about it but, when you read it, [you’ll realise] it’s a whole world you’d have to create. It wouldn’t be cheap.'
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Addressing whether the original cast could return, Rob said: 'The guys are getting old. We’d really need to recast. That’s what I thought the Titan spin-off might achieve.
'We’d get a new Rimmer and Lister – but the existing cast could appear in quite decent roles, if they wanted to.
‘I know – and I’m with them – that the fans adore the cast. I adore them too. And just to a lot of people, it just wouldn’t feel right, anybody else playing anything like those parts.
‘But what else can you do? Except AI?!'
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