Michael Keating, the ‘cautious’ heart of Blake’s 7, dies at 79
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The reluctant rebel of the Liberator
Michael Keating, the actor who brought a unique blend of neurotic charm and survivalist wit to the BBC’s cult science fiction series Blake’s 7, has died at the age of 79. A staple of British television and theatre for over five decades, Keating will be remembered most vividly as Vila Restal, the career thief and self-described coward whose presence provided the essential human heartbeat to one of the most bleakly imaginative shows in TV history.
Born in Edmonton, North London, on February 10, 1947, Keating’s path to sci-fi stardom was paved through the rigorous world of repertory theatre. He began his professional journey in 1966 at the Nottingham Playhouse under the direction of John Neville, eventually moving through a series of prestigious venues including the Library Theatre Manchester and the Lyric Theatre Belfast. This classical training gave him the precision necessary to play Vila—a character who could have easily been a one-dimensional caricature of a thief but instead became a complex study in self-preservation.
Between 1978 and 1981, Keating achieved a feat no other cast member of Blake’s 7 could match: he appeared in every single one of the show’s 52 episodes. While the series followed a band of outlaws fighting a totalitarian Galactic Federation, Vila served as the grounded, often terrified counterpoint to the more idealistic members of the crew. Keating famously resisted the label of ‘coward,’ preferring to describe his character as ‘cautious,’ a nuance that added depth to Vila’s wily nature and made him an enduring fan favorite.
A lasting legacy in audio and stage
Keating’s connection to the science fiction community extended far beyond the original television run. He became a frequent collaborator with Big Finish, the production house known for expanding the universes of Doctor Who and Blake’s 7 through high-fidelity audio dramas. He first ventured into the Big Finish microphones in 2004 in the Eighth Doctor story The Twilight Kingdom, but it was his 2012 return as Vila in The Turing Test that truly resonated with the legacy audience.
Peter Anghelides, a producer at Big Finish, recalled the joy of working with Keating, noting that the actor’s comic timing remained as sharp in the recording booth as it had been at the BBC Television Centre decades prior. “His cheery presence on studio days was always most welcome,” Anghelides said, recalling how Keating would often suggest whimsical plot points or character beats that endeared him further to the production team.
Even when discussing the brutal finale of the original TV series—which saw the near-total massacre of the crew—Keating remained immersed in the psyche of his character. When asked by writer Mark Wright during the recording of The New Age whether Vila could survive in a world stripped of technology, Keating replied in character, imagining a life of building small huts and learning about the local flora, provided he could stay warm and find companionship.
Beyond the spaceship
While the Blake’s 7 legacy is the cornerstone of his public profile, Keating was a versatile performer with a deep commitment to the stage. His work included stints with the National Theatre and the Old Vic, and in 1985, he took on the role of Marty in Alan Bleasdale’s Are You Lonesome Tonight, a play exploring the mythos of Elvis Presley.
In later years, he transitioned into more contemporary television, notably appearing as the Reverend George Stevens in 54 episodes of the long-running soap EastEnders between 2005 and 2017. Off-screen, those who knew him described a man of quiet contradictions: a voracious reader and a keen rambler who loved the outdoors, possessing a generosity of spirit that matched his professional dedication.
His final contribution to the Big Finish library was in The Terra Nostra, released in January 2022. He leaves behind a body of work that reminds audiences that in the face of cosmic horror and galactic empires, there is something profoundly relatable about the man who just wants to keep his head down and stay alive.