Michael Keating, the actor known for his roles in EastEnders and Blake’s 7, has died at the age of 79.
Keating’s death has been reported on numerous social media accounts, including Cult Edge, the publisher of multiple Blake’s 7 books.
A post on Cult Edge‘s account on X said: “So terribly sad to hear reports that we’ve lost Michael Keating. What a loss, and what a wonderful man. He’ll be hugely missed. Thoughts are with his family and friends. RIP Michael, and thank you xx”
Meanwhile, Paul Carmichael, who is behind Sophie Aldred’s Ace Odyssey podcast, said 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.”
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Keating was born in London in 1947, and had a notably early role as Goudry in a 1977 Doctor Who story The Sun Makers.
One of his best-known roles came in 1978, when he played Vila Restal in Blake’s 7. Vila is the only character to have appeared in all episodes of the sci-fi series, which ran until 1981.
Other roles saw Keating in Yes Minister, Casualty, Micro Men and Midsomer Murders, while another notable role began in 2005, when he started playing Reverend Stevens in EastEnders.
The recurring character appeared in episodes right through until 2017, with his last appearance seeing the character telling June Brown’s Dot that he was retiring and moving to live with his daughter in Australia.
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He appeared in numerous audio productions for Big Finish, with the company’s Blake’s 7 producer, Peter Anghelides saying in a statement: “What a joy it was to work with Michael. Little did I realise when first encountering him at BBC Television Centre 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 always most welcome. I would sit at the back of the Audio Sorcery control room hooting with laughter at his comic timing in our recordings. In the green room when we recorded the first full-cast audio Warship he jokingly suggested that there should have been a planet named “Vere” after his old colleague, TV director/producer Vere Lorrimer, so obviously I smuggled that idea into a later script, much to Michael’s great 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 acknowledged the character’s popularity – in no small part thanks to Michael’s adroit performance as the career thief and reluctant rebel.”
