Doug Naylor

A British comedy writer and producer, Doug Naylor is best known for his TV work as the creator of the cult hit "Red Dwarf." Naylor studied at the University of Liverpool and began writing sketch comedy for radio shows on the BBC. His writing partner was Rob Grant, who would eventually collaborate with him on his biggest projects. His first work in television came as a writer for the BAFTA-winning comedy show "Carrott's Lib" and story editor and writer on the cult hit show "Spitting Image," which featured send-ups of celebrities portrayed as puppets. The first "Red Dwarf" series appeared in 1988 and ran for eight seasons. It was an enormous hit for Naylor and Grant, although Grant left the show after season six, claiming he wanted to try something else. Naylor wrote most of the last two seasons alone, although other writers did collaborate. The show was an unusual mix of comedy and science fiction and attracted a devoted following. In addition to several making-of videos, Naylor reunited the original cast for a 2009 mini-series--"Red Dwarf: Back to Earth"--that was a ratings success. He also directed all three parts of the series.