Creator / Michael Keating

Michael Keating (born 10 February 1947) is an English actor, best known for playing the cowardly but loveable thief Vila Restal in Blake's 7. He was the only actor to appear in all 52 episodes of the show, which aired from 1978 to 1981.

Decades later, he reprised the role in audio form; first for BBC Radio in two audio dramas in 1998-99, then for B7 Productions: The Early Years, a 2010 prequel to the main series, and then, most notably, for Big Finish Productions in a series of adventures that reunited most of the original cast from 2011 onwards.

Keating is also known for playing the recurring character of Reverend Stevens on Eastenders from 2005 to 2017.

His roles in works with pages on TV Tropes:

Film

• Julius Caesar (1970) — Plebian

TV

• Doomwatch: "Enquiry" (1972) — Stephen Grigg
• Doctor Who: 4-episode serial "The Sun Makers" (1977) — Goudry
• Blake's 7: 52 episodes^{show list} "The Way Back", "Space Fall", "Cygnus Alpha", "Time Squad", "The Web", "Seek-Locate-Destroy", "Mission to Destiny", "Duel", "Project Avalon", "Breakdown", "Bounty", "Deliverance", "Orac", "Redemption", "Shadow", "Weapon", "Horizon", "Pressure Point", "Trial", "Killer", "Hostage", "Countdown", "Voice From The Past", "Gambit", "The Keeper", "Star One", "Aftermath", "Powerplay", "Volcano", "Dawn of the Gods", "The Harvest of Kairos", "City at the Edge of the World", "Children of Auron", "Rumours of Death", "Sarcophagus", "Ultraworld", "Moloch", "Death-Watch", "Terminal", "Rescue", "Power", "Traitor", "Stardrive", "Animals", "Headhunter", "Assassin", "Games", "Sand", "Gold", "Orbit", "Warlord", "Blake" (1978-81) — Vila Restal
• Yes, Minister: "The Death List" (1981) — Constable Ross
• Rainbow: "Detectives" (1986) — Detective Inspector Frost
• The Play on One episodes:
  • "These Foolish Things" (1989) — Charlie
  • "Clowns" (1989) — Daniel
• London's Burning: 1 episode (1990) — A.C.O. Howard
• Between The Lines: "Some Must Watch" (1993) — Police Federation Rep.
• The Bill: "Menace" (1994) — Geoff Tilson
• CASUAL+Y episodes:
  • "Bringing It All Back Home" (1995) — Pat Sadler
  • "States of Shock" (2000) — Graham Wingate
• Eastenders: 54 episodes (2005-17) — Reverend George Stevens
• Midsomer Murders: "The Dogleg Murders" (2009) — Derek Painter
• Micro Men (2009) — Derek Holley

Audio Play

• Blake's 7:
  • From BBC Radio: 2 episodes ^{show list} "The Sevenfold Crown", "Syndeton Experiment" (1998, 1999) — Vila Restal
  • From B7 Productions: The Early Years: "When Vila Met Gan" (2010) — Vila Restal
  • From Big Finish:
    • Liberator Chronicles: 8 releases / 13 stories^{show list} Volume 1: "The Turing Test", "Solitary"; Volume 3: "The Armageddon Storm: Part 1", "The Armageddon Storm: Part 2", "The Armageddon Storm: Part 3"; Volume 4: "Epitaph", Volume 7: "Spy", "Disorder"; Volume 9: "Planetfall", "Secrets"; Volume 10: "Retribution"; Volume 11: "Poison"; Volume 12: "Punishment" (2012-16) — Vila Restal
    • The Classic Adventures: 21 releases / 35 stories^{show list} "Warship ", "Fractures", "Battleground", "Drones", "Mirror", "Cold Fury", "Caged", "Scimitar", "Fortuitas", "Mindset", "Ghost Ship", "Devil's Advocate", "Truth and Lies", The Spoils of War: "Liberation", "Outpost", "Solus"; Crossfire Part 1:"Paradise Lost", "Resurgence", "Fearless"; Crossfire Part 2:"Funeral on Kalion", "Erebus", "The Scapegoat"; Crossfire Part 3:"Refuge", "Death of Empire"; The Way Ahead: "Project Aquitar", "Dissent"; Restoration Part 1: "Damage Control", "The Hunted", "Abandon Ship"; Restoration Part 2: "The New Age", "Hyperion"; Restoration Part 3: "Parasite", "Reunion", "Imperium" (2013-20) — Vila Restal
    • The Worlds of Blake's 7: 2 releases / 6 stories^{show list} The Terra Nostra: "Stimulus/Response", "Entrapment", "The Offer"; Heroes and Villains: "The Amagon Queen", "The Deal with Dorian", "Everyone Talks to Shrinker" (2021-22) — Vila Restal

• Big Finish Doctor Who:
  • Main Range: "The Twilight Kingdom" (2004) — Major Koth
  • Main Range: "Year of the Pig" (2006) — Inspector Chardalot
  • The Fourth Doctor Adventures: "The Evil One" (2014) — Calvert

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