Also appeared in Star Maidens, Children of the Stones and, very briefly, The Avengers and Quatermass and the Pit.
I've just heard, such a shame, although i met him/got his autograph just a couple of years ago and he seemed quite frail. So we've lost Gan, Orac/Zen and Blake now. Hopefully it will be a while before we lose anyone else
That's very sad. Just been watching a few of those recently. RIP. I would make a joke asking if Paul Darrow was involved but I'll save it for later.
Doesn't seem to be much on the net about it - search for Gareth Thomas and you have to filter out about the former rugby player. His wiki entry has been updated but not his IMDB entry. No mention of his family though. I wonder where that's going to leave Big Finish if they had any stories (either full cast or Liberator Chronicles) that were in the pipeline.
I think we can sum up how much he meant to all of us that watched the show he was most famous for by the quote "Blake... His name was Blake" He would have found it funny... Always willing to buy somebody a drink at the bar if he and them were the last people standing. Depending on when he was taken ill, he might have been in hospital whilst Return to Garuda Prime 2 was on
I just heard the news. Very sad. I also wonder if Big Finish had anything in the pipeline with Gareth. Big Finish haven't produced much for the Blake's 7 range in the last year or so.
It's a shame Blake's 7 isn't more available to the US. I never lived in an area where it aired on PBS and was only able to see the program through nefarious means. Anyway, despite his other works I only know him as Blake and it's sad to hear he's passed.
Read this a short while ago on BBC News. Sad news indeed, condolences to his family and friends. Another of our heroes has left us
Rest in Peace, Gareth. Deeply saddened when I read the news this morning. I listened to the Big Finish podcast a few week ago, the next edition of Liberator Chronicles will be the last and they were gearing up for full cast audios instead.They were also in the process of recasting Gan so I assume these stories were set during Series A & B, without Gareth I wonder if they will have to change to a later time where Avon was the lead character.
As he himself said... a fine actor, and a terrific piss-artist. Which was wonderful for those of us who were children when he was in the series, and serious drinkers when we got to meet him later. A lovely man and a subtle actor.
That's the name of a chapter in a Doctor Who novel (The Pit). A first thought it was a riff on Blake's 7 but then realised it was a reference to the poet William Blake (who found himself in caught up in the Doctor's adventure).
Also the name of a book of essays by fans about the show. I've listened to all of the B7 audios Big Finish has released so far, and they had a pretty solid track record. Several of the cast didn't sound much like their younger selves, Gareth Thomas being one of them, but they nonetheless brought the characters to life. Paul Darrow's had some serious health issues in the last few years, but I hadn't heard Thomas was ill. He'll be missed. Incidentally, he also guest starred in the "Ghost Machine" episode of Torchwood. Worth a look if you haven't seen it.