Actor Michael Keating, best known for playing Reverend George Stevens on BBC’s EastEnders and Vila Restal on Blake’s 7, has died at 79. His agent Dan Ireson said he “passed away recently,” while colleagues and fans reflected on his decades-spanning work, inclu
Michael Keating’s character work helped define eras of British television—then, without warning, the man behind the roles was gone.
Keating, who was 79, died “recently,” his agent Dan Ireson confirmed in a statement Thursday, May 21. The statement did not provide additional details about the circumstances of his death.
Born in Edmonton, England, Keating’s screen career began in the late 1960s and 1970s through guest appearances on a range of television shows, including Special Branch, Merry-Go-Round, Omnibus, The Dragon’s Opponent and the British sci-fi drama Doctor Who.
His breakout came in 1978, when he landed a starring role on the BBC space drama Blake’s 7. The series followed a dystopian power struggle between rebels and a totalitarian regime that had taken over Earth. In that show, Keating played Vila Restal, a cunning petty thief. Vila was the only character to appear in all 52 episodes.
For viewers, one of Keating’s most enduring presences arrived later, through BBC’s long-running soap opera EastEnders. He played Reverend George Stevens for 54 episodes from 2005 to 2017. Stevens. the vicar of the show’s main town Walford. often guided key moments for other characters. presiding over christenings. marriages and funerals.
Keating returned to Blake’s 7 in a different format as well, reprising his role behind the microphone for several podcast series in the 2010s and early 2020s: Blake’s 7: The Liberator Chronicles (2012-2016), Blake’s 7: The Classic Adventures (2013-2020) and The Worlds of Blake’s 7 (2021-2022).
In studio recordings tied to that legacy, coworkers remembered the warmth he brought to the work. Peter Anghelides. an audio producer for Blake’s 7. spoke about Keating’s comic timing during sessions released by Big Finish Productions. saying he would “sit at the back of the Audio Sorcery control room hooting with laughter.” Anghelides added that. during recordings. Keating jokingly suggested that there should have been a planet named ‘Vere’ after TV director/producer Vere Lorrimer. and that the idea was later worked into a script “much to Michael’s great delight.”.
Anghelides also described Keating’s on-set mood, saying: “What a joy it was to work with Michael. His cheery presence on studio days was always most welcome.”
Keating’s death lands as another reminder of how public roles can become private comfort for audiences. When a performer who shaped familiar characters—whether through the conspiratorial streets of Blake’s 7 or the solemn rituals of Walford—dies. the reaction is rarely about trivia or credits. It’s about the continuity of the stories people carried with them.
At this point, only the basic timeline is confirmed: Michael Keating died at 79, with his agent Dan Ireson saying he “passed away recently” on Thursday, May 21. Additional details were not available.
Michael Keating EastEnders Blake's 7 Reverend George Stevens Vila Restal BBC actor dies Edmonton England Dan Ireson Big Finish Productions podcast series