Michael Keating, EastEnders and Blake’s 7 star, dies aged 79
Michael Keating, the actor identified for his roles in EastEnders and Blake’s 7has died on the age of 79.
Keating’s demise has been reported on quite a few social media accounts, together with Cult Edge, the writer of a number of Blake’s 7 books.
A submit on CultEdge‘s account on
Meanwhile, Paul Carmichael, who’s behind Sophie Aldred’s Ace Odyssey podcast, mentioned on the platform: “So sorry to hear that Michael Keating has died. A fine actor with a wonderful career, including a recurring role in #EastEnders, but to me he will always be the wonderful Vila in #Blakes7. RIP.”
Keating was born in London in 1947, and had a notably early function as Goudry in 1977 Doctor Who story The Sun (*79*).
One of his best-known roles got here in 1978, when he performed Vila Restal in Blake’s 7. Vila is the one character to have appeared in all episodes of the sci-fi collection, which ran till 1981.
Other roles Keating noticed in Yes Minister, CasualtyMicro Men and Midsomer Murderswhereas one other notable function started in 2005, when he began taking part in Reverend Stevens in EastEnders.
The recurring character appeared in episodes proper by 2017, along with his final look seeing the character telling June Brown’s Dot that he was retiring and transferring to dwell along with his daughter in Australia.
He has appeared in quite a few audio productions for Big Finish, with the corporate’s Blake’s 7 producer, Peter Anghelides saying in a press release: “What a joy it was to work with Michael. Little did I realize when first encountering him at BBC Television Center in 1981 that some three decades later I would be writing and producing Big Finish Blake’s 7 audio stories for him as Vila Restal.
“His cheery presence on studio days was at all times most welcome. I’d sit behind the Audio Sorcery management room hooting with laughter at his comedian timing in our recordings. In the inexperienced room after we recorded the primary full-cast audio Warship he jokingly recommended that there ought to have been a planet named “Vere” after his previous colleague, TV director/producer Vere Lorrimer, so clearly I smuggled that concept right into a later script, a lot to Michael’s nice delight.
“Blake’s 7 fans loved him as Vila, the only character to appear in every Blake’s 7 TV episodes between 1978 and 1981 and in both BBC Radio plays. At one point in planning the second series, Terry Nation thought that Vila was a ‘borderline case’ for being dropped as a Liberator regular, until the production team recognized the character’s popularity – in no small part thanks to Michael’s adroit performance as the career thief and reluctant rebel.”
