Hello everyone.
Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley.
Lately we’ve had the sad loss of Paul Darrow who passed away this week. As well as giving a tribute to Paul Darrow, I’ve also decided to give a tribute to Gareth Thomas and Jacqueline Pearce who have also passed away recently. These three actors are well-known for featuring in the TV series ‘Blake’s 7’.
Last Christmas, I had the DVD box set of Series 1 of ‘Blake’s 7’. I’ve enjoyed watching that series so much with all the episodes by Terry Nation. This year, I’ve been able to enjoy more of ‘Blake’s 7’ with watching Series 2 and am currently three episodes in of Series 3. It’s been great to discover this series.
The news of Paul Darrow’s passing has affected me deeply since I’d only just seen ‘Volcano’, the third episode of Series 3 in ‘Blake’s 7’ on the day that I discovered the actor who played Avon had died. I had no idea Paul Darrow was ill. He was meant to be attending a comic con in Birmingham this month.
Thankfully the illness was short before he passed away. I’ve enjoyed watching Paul Darrow in ‘Blake’s 7’ and he certainly makes the role of Avon his own. I’ve also enjoyed him guest star in some ‘Doctor Who’ stories like ‘The Silurians’ and ‘Timelash’ on TV as well as ‘The Next Life’ on audio with Big Finish.
I’ve never had the chance to meet Paul Darrow in person, though I know he did attend a few of the ‘Regenerations’ Swansea conventions I went to in 2010, 2011 and 2013. It’s a shame I never got to meet Paul Darrow and I would like to have chatted to him about his ‘Blake’s 7’ and ‘Doctor Who’ roles.
Gareth Thomas is an actor I didn’t know much about before seeing him in ‘Blake’s 7’. I have heard his voice in audio works such as some of the ‘Doctor Who’ stories by Big Finish, the ‘Dalek Empire’ audios and of course the ‘Soldiers of Love’ series by MTJV. I’ve enjoyed Gareth in those in audio productions.
I never got to meet Gareth in real-life and he sadly died in 2016. I’ve had the opportunity to chat to Sarah Sutton who worked with Gareth in ‘Soldiers of Love’ and she remembered what he was like, finding him a nice man to work with. I’m pleased I’ve been able to enjoy Gareth as Blake in ‘Blake’s 7’.
I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Jacqueline Pearce, who played Servalan in ‘Blake’s 7’. My memories of meeting Jacqueline were at the ‘Regenerations 2016’ convention in Swansea. I had a pleasant encounter with Jacqueline since she was very nice to me and she signed ‘The Two Doctors‘ DVD cover.
Of course, I knew Jacqueline for playing Chessene in the ‘Doctor Who’ story ‘The Two Doctors’ before watching her in ‘Blake’s 7’. She has done some Big Finish audios of ‘Doctor Who’ including ‘Hexagora’ and ‘The Fearmonger’. I was saddened that she passed away in 2018 whilst I was on holiday in Amroth.
I’m saddened these three ‘Blake’s 7’ stars are no longer with us. I’m currently enjoying the ‘Blake’s 7’ series on DVD as I go through Series 3 before getting to Series 4. I haven’t heard the Big Finish audios of ‘Blake’s 7’ yet, but I hope I will do one day soon with Gareth Thomas, Paul Darrow and Jacqueline Pearce in them. Like the ‘Doctor Who’ audios, I have heard positive things about the ‘Blake’s 7’ audios.
My prayers and thoughts are with the families and friends of Paul Darrow, Gareth Thomas and Jacqueline Pearce.
Thanks for reading.
Tim.
Bradley's Basement 