It was with some sadness that fans of Blake’s 7, the powerful series created first for the BBC by Terry Nation from 78 to 81, heard of the death of Gareth Thomas. His reprisal of the role in The Liberator Chronicles in 2012 created a whole new generation of fans.
…Gareth Thomas passed away this morning, 13th April 2016, from heart failure.
“Our thoughts are with his wife Linda, and his family and friends.”
Blake’s 7, which was created by Terry Nation and ran from 1978 to 1981, follows the travails of Blake, a political dissident banished from Earth for his part in a series of uprisings.Along with other prisoners and a telepathic alien, Blake leads a guerrilla war from his spacecraft, Liberator, against the totalitarian Terran Foundation regime.
Blake was controversially killed off in 1981 but Thomas reprised the role in 2012 for an audio series called The Liberator Chronicles.
Though Thomas will be most fondly remembered for his role as the intergalactic resistance leader, he enjoyed a varied acting career that began in 1965 when he played Benvolio in a TV adaptation of Romeo and Juliet.
Later, he enjoyed long stints playing Ron Radley in the ITV drama Parkin’s Patch, Adam Brake in the ITV drama Children of the Stones, and Charles McCallister in the ITV comedy drama Distant Shores, alongside Peter Davison and Samantha Bond.
Thomas’ last credit came in 2011 when he played Gareth Harper in the BBC hospital drama Holby City.
Sci-fi fans were were quick to pay tribute to Thomas on Twitter.
Safe etheric seas, sweet Prince!
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