Michael Keating (actor)

Last updated
Michael Keating
Michael Keating.jpg
Michael Keating at the Blake's 7 series 2 DVD launch, 2005
Born
Michael Frank Keating

(1947-02-10) 10 February 1947 (age 77)
Occupation Actor
Years active1966-present
Known for Vila Restal in Blake's 7
Reverend Stevens in EastEnders

Michael Keating (born 10 February 1947) is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Vila Restal in the science fiction television series Blake's 7 .

Contents

Career

Keating was born in Edmonton, London, and his acting career began in 1966. [1] One of his earlier notable roles was as Goudry in a 1977 Doctor Who story, entitled The Sun Makers . Just over a month later, Keating first appeared in the role of Vila Restal in the BBC TV series Blake's 7 , which aired from 1978 to 1981. Vila Restal was the only character to appear in all fifty-two episodes of the series. In 1981, Keating appeared in an episode of the BBC sitcom Yes Minister titled The Death List , playing the role of Police Constable Ross.

Some years later Michael Keating reunited with his Blake's 7 co-star Gareth Thomas, in an episode of the BBC drama series Casualty . In 2004, Keating returned to the Doctor Who franchise, guest starring as Major Koth in the Big Finish Productions audio adventure The Twilight Kingdom . In 2006, he starred in another Doctor Who audio adventure, this time as Inspector Chardalot in Year of the Pig . In 2009, he had a brief role in the BBC one-off drama Micro Men about the rise of the British home computer market in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Recent career

From 2005 to 2017, Keating played Reverend Stevens in the BBC soap opera EastEnders . [1] He appeared as a recurring character, usually for a single episode or a few episodes at a time, in connection with another character's christening, marriage, or funeral, or relating to regular churchgoer Dot Branning (June Brown).

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1970 Julius Caesar Plebeian #2
2009 Micro Men Derek HolleyTV movie

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1969 Special Branch Det. Constable Pearce
1971Merry-Go-RoundSaxon PrisonerEpisode: "The Raven and the Cross 1", TV Documentary
1972 Doomwatch Stephen GriggEpisode: "Enquiry"
1972 Omnibus DanteEpisode: "Max Beerbohm Remembers", TV documentary
1973The Dragon's OpponentFirst mateEpisode: "The Drawn Sword", historical miniseries
1977 Doctor Who GoudrySerial: The Sun Makers
1978-1981 Blake's 7 Vila Restal52 episodes
1980The Dawson WatchTBA2 episodes: "The Future" & "Holidays", sci-fi comedy
1981 Yes, Minister Constable RossEpisode: "The Death List"
1983Paul Squire, EsqTBAEpisode: "1.6", sketch and variety show
1986 Rainbow Detective Inspector FrostEpisode: "Detectives"
1988King & CastleInspector BellEpisode: "Floppy Discs", crime drama
1989 The Play on One Daniel / Charlie2 episodes: "Clowns" & "These Foolish Things"
1989 Capital City Estate agentEpisode: "Thanksgiving"
1990 The Two of Us Police sergeantEpisode: "Dangers in the Night"
1990 London's Burning A. C. O. HowardEpisode "3.7", role uncredited
1991 Kinsey MurrayEpisode: "The Authentic Voice... Little Miss Goosestep"
1993 Between the Lines Police Federation Rep.Episode: "Some Must Watch"
1994True CrimesReenactmentEpisode: "The Deepest Secret", TV documentary
1994 The Bill Geoff TilsonEpisode: "Menace"
1995, 2000 Casualty Graham Wingate / Pat Sadler2 episodes: "Bringing It All Back Home" & "States of Shock"
2005-2013, 2015-2017 EastEnders Reverend George Stevens54 episodes
2009 Midsomer Murders Derek PainterEpisode: "The Dogleg Murders"

Radio and CD audio dramas

YearTitleRoleNotes
1998-1999Blake's 7Vila Restal2 stories: "The Sevenfold Crown" & "The Syndeton Experiment"
1999-2000Soldiers of LoveMydas Mydasson5 episodes, sci-fi comedy
2004, 2006 Doctor Who: The Monthly Adventures Major Koth / Inspector Chardalot2 serials: The Twilight Kingdom & Year of the Pig
2010 Graceless Earl KreekpoltSeries 1
2010Blake's 7: A Rebellion RebornVila RestalEpisode: "When Vila Met Gan"
2012-2016Blake's 7: The Liberator ChroniclesVila Restal/Narrator14 episodes
2013-2020Blake's 7: The Classic AdventuresVila Restal34 episodes
2014 Doctor Who: The Fourth Doctor Adventures CalvertSerial: The Evil One
2021-2022The Worlds of Blake's 7Vila Restal3 episodes

Related Research Articles

<i>Blakes 7</i> British science fiction television series (1978–1981)

Blake's 7 is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. Four 13-episode series were broadcast on BBC1 between 1978 and 1981. It was created by Terry Nation, who also wrote the first series, produced by David Maloney and Vere Lorrimer, and the script editor throughout its run was Chris Boucher, who wrote nine of its episodes. The main character for the first two series was Roj Blake, played by Gareth Thomas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colin Baker</span> English actor

Colin Baker is an English actor. He played Paul Merroney in the BBC television drama series The Brothers from 1974 to 1976 and the sixth incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who from 1984 to 1986. Baker's tenure as the Doctor proved to be a controversial era for the series, which included a hiatus in production and his subsequent replacement on the orders of BBC executive Michael Grade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Davison</span> English actor

Peter Malcolm Gordon Moffett, known professionally as Peter Davison, is an English actor with many credits in television dramas and sitcoms. He made his television acting debut in 1975 and became famous in 1978 as Tristan Farnon in the BBC's television adaptation of James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small stories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Darrow</span> English actor (1941–2019)

Paul Darrow was an English actor. He became best known for playing Kerr Avon in the BBC science fiction television series Blake's 7 between 1978 and 1981. His many television roles included two appearances in another BBC science fiction series, Doctor Who, playing Captain Hawkins in Doctor Who and the Silurians (1970) and Tekker in Timelash (1985). He was also the voice of "Jack" on independent radio stations JACKfm and Union JACK, whose lines included dry-witted comments pertaining to current events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Finish Productions</span> British company producing books and audio dramas

Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays based, primarily, on science fiction properties. These include Doctor Who, the characters Judge Dredd and Strontium Dog from 2000 AD, Blake's 7, Dark Shadows, Dracula, Terrahawks, Sapphire & Steel, Sherlock Holmes, Stargate, The Avengers, The Prisoner, Timeslip, and Torchwood.

Martin Jarvis OBE is an English actor. Described by the BBC as "one of Britain's most distinguished and versatile actors", he has had a varied career in theatre, film and television, and is particularly noted for radio acting and voicing audiobooks.

Doctor Who spin-offs refers to material created outside of, but related to, the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.

Pamela Fortunee Salem was a British film and television actress. She was born in Bombay, India, and educated at Heidelberg University in Germany and later at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah Jane Smith</span> Fictional character in various TV series including Doctor Who

Sarah Jane Smith is a fictional character played by Elisabeth Sladen in the long-running BBC Television science fiction series Doctor Who and two of its spin-offs. Sarah Jane is a dogged investigative journalist who first encounters alien time traveller the Doctor while trying to break a story on a top secret research facility, and subsequently becomes his travelling companion on a series of adventures spanning the breadth of space and time. After travelling with The Doctor in four seasons of the show they suddenly part ways, and after this she continues to investigate strange goings-on back on Earth. Over time, Sarah Jane establishes herself as a committed defender of Earth from alien invasions and other threats, occasionally reuniting with The Doctor in the course of her own adventures, all the while continuing to work as a freelance investigative journalist.

David Troughton is an English actor. He is known for his Shakespearean roles on the British stage and for his many roles on British television, including Dr Bob Buzzard in A Very Peculiar Practice and Ricky Hanson in New Tricks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicholas Courtney</span> British actor

William Nicholas Stone Courtney was an Egyptian-born British actor. He was known for his long-running role as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Tennant</span> Scottish actor (born 1971)

David John Tennant is a Scottish actor. He is best known for portraying the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in the sci-fi series Doctor Who. He returned to the show as the fourteenth incarnation of the character from 2022 to 2023. His other notable screen roles include DI Alec Hardy in the crime drama series Broadchurch (2013–2017) and its 2014 remake, Kilgrave in the superhero series Jessica Jones (2015–2019), Crowley in the fantasy series Good Omens (2019–present) and various fictionalised versions of himself in the comedy series Staged (2020–2022).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Collings</span> English actor (1940–2020)

David Collings was an English actor. In an extensive career he appeared in many roles on stage, television, film and radio, as well as various audio books, voiceovers, concert readings and other work. He garnered a following through his numerous appearances in cult sci-fi series such as Doctor Who, Sapphire & Steel and Blake's 7, as well as dubbing the titular character in the series Monkey and Legolas in the classic BBC Radio 4 adaptation of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Jayston</span> English actor (1935–2024)

Michael A. James, known professionally as Michael Jayston, was an English actor. He played Nicholas II of Russia in the film Nicholas and Alexandra (1971). He also made many television appearances, which included portraying Peter Guillam in 1979 miniseries Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, playing the Valeyard in all fourteen episodes of the Doctor Who serial The Trial of a Time Lord (1986), and appearing in the Only Fools and Horses episode "Time on Our Hands" (1996) as Raquel's father, James.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Sheard</span> Scottish actor (1938–2005)

Michael Sheard was a Scottish character actor who featured in many films and television programmes, and was known for playing villains. His most prominent television role was as strict deputy headmaster Maurice Bronson in the children's series Grange Hill, which he played between 1985 and 1989. He appeared as Admiral Ozzel in The Empire Strikes Back (1980).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Savident</span> British actor (1938–2024)

John Frederick Joseph Savident was a British actor, known for his numerous television roles, including his portrayal of Fred Elliott in the soap opera Coronation Street from 1994 to 2006. He was also known for his performance as Monsieur Firmin in the West End cast of The Phantom of the Opera. His other credits include The Avengers (1968), A Clockwork Orange (1971), The Professionals (1978), Blake's 7 (1979), Yes Minister (1980), Gandhi (1982), The Remains of the Day (1993) and Middlemarch (1994).

Michael Dundonald Cochrane is an English actor. Cochrane has played Oliver Sterling in the Radio 4 soap opera The Archers.

Blake's 7 is a British science fiction television programme that was produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) for its station BBC1. Set in the far future, Blake's 7 follows the fortunes of a group of rebels in their fight against the dictatorial Terran Federation. Four thirteen-episode series were produced between 1978 and 1981. Blake's 7 was created by Terry Nation, who later described it as "The Dirty Dozen in space". David Maloney was assigned to produce the series and Chris Boucher was appointed as the script editor. Gareth Thomas was cast as the eponymous Blake. The series' budget was severely restricted, which limited the scope for visual effects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher Blake</span> British actor

Christopher Blake was an English actor and screenwriter. He is perhaps best remembered for starring in the British sitcoms Mixed Blessings (1978–80) and That's My Boy (1981–86).

This is a list of characters from Blake's 7, a media franchise created by Terry Nation.

References

  1. 1 2 Feast Creative - The Narrow Road Company. "Michael Keating". narrowroad.co.uk.