Paul Darrow (born Paul Valentine Birkby; 2 May 1941 – 3 June 2019) was an English actor and writer. He became best known for playing Kerr Avon in the BBCscience fiction television series Blake's 7 between 1978 and 1981.[1] His many television roles included two appearances in another BBC science fiction series, Doctor Who, playing Captain Hawkins in Doctor Who and the Silurians (1970) and Tekker in Timelash (1985). He was also the voice of "Jack" on independent radio stations JACKfm and Union JACK, whose lines included dry-witted comments pertaining to current events.
Darrow appeared as the character Avon, for which he was best known, in all but the first episode of Blake's 7. In the mid-to-late 1990s, he purchased the rights to Blake's 7 and attempted to produce a big-budget follow-up mini-series, Blake's 7: A Rebellion Reborn. According to Darrow, it would have been set 25 years after the final episode of the BBC series.[5]
His film credits are few, but include roles as doctors in The Raging Moon (1971) and the Bond movieDie Another Day (2002), for which he filmed but much of his material was deleted before the film was released in cinemas.
In 2004, Darrow was the subject of the fourth volume of MJTV's "The Actor Speaks" audio CDs, featuring frank interviews and dramatic pieces, alongside guest Peter Miles, with a piece specifically written by Tanith Lee.
Darrow narrated the 2008 audio book of Terry Nation's classic children's story Rebecca's World: Journey to the Forbidden Planet (2008)
In December 2011, Darrow voiced the character of Overseer Tremel in the Bioware MMORPG release Star Wars: The Old Republic.
In 2012, Darrow returned to the role of Kerr Avon in Big Finish Productions' Blake's 7: The Liberator Chronicles, a series of dramatic readings which take place during Series One, Two and Three of the original show. He also reprised the part in Blake's 7: The Classic Audio Adventures, a full-cast audio drama series.
In 2015, Darrow starred as Paul Rand, the enigmatic business man in charge of the business institute Atlas in the interactive video game Contradiction: Spot the Liar!.
Darrow was Patron of the University of York Astronomy Society (AstroSoc) from 1981 to 1984.
An extinct crocodile from the Miocene of Australia, Baru darrowi, was named after Darrow.[9]
On 27 October 2018, Darrow appeared on (and won) a celebrity sci-fi edition of the quiz showPointless, along with fellow Blake's 7 cast member Michael Keating.[10]
In his last years Darrow suffered a decline in health. In October 2014, he had an aortic aneurysm, and due to complications during its treatment, surgeons had to amputate both his legs.[13][14] He died on the morning of 3 June 2019 at the age of 78.[3][15][16][12] The 2019 remake of MediEvil, which featured Darrow as the voice of the main antagonist Zarok, was dedicated to his memory.
