Your Memories
25.05.2007 : John Pendlebury wrote
I was shocked and saddened to hear of the death of Gareth Hunt. I was a fan of his from his television work. He was one of those actors whose presence on the screen demanded attention. He was an iconic figure and I will watch with fondness when I see the characters he created.
28.04.2008 : Paul Edgewater wrote
God Bless Gareth Hunt. His character Mike Gambit was a hero to me as a boy. Hearing how bravely he faced his disease and how he continued living his life, has made him a hero and inspiration to me as a man.
May he rest in peace.
Much love to his family.
TV hero and villain who found fame as a secret agent.
Gareth Hunt, who died on 14 March, 2007 aged 65, enjoyed international fame and a cult following after his role as action man Mike Gambit in The New Avengers.
After appearing in the series, which only filmed 26 episodes, Mr Hunt became somewhat of a mini celebrity.
But before his acting career took off, he worked as a road digger, a door to door salesman and a stage hand.
Performing was always where his passion lay and his first TV appearance came in 1963, when he landed a role in Dr Who.
Alan Leonard Hunt was born on 7 February 1943, in Battersea, south London .
From an early age he showed an interest in acting, but at the age of 15 joined the Merchant Navy.
He served for six years, before ending up in a military prison for three months after jumping ship in New Zealand . He returned to Britain and pursued a variety of jobs and then enrolled at the Webber Douglas School of Dramatic Art.
After graduating, he landed roles in theatre productions and travelled to Ipswich, Coventry and the Bristol Old Vic. In the early 1970s he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company and later the National Theatre, where he was seen in a number of supporting roles.
His first TV appearance came in 1963, when he played Arak in Dr Who – followed by a run in Upstairs Downstairs, as footman Frederick.
But the role of Mike Gambit, in The New Avengers, was most definitely the highlight of Hunt’s career.
For 11 years, from 1976, Mr Hunt loved being part of the cult tongue-in-cheek adventure show – featuring bizarre villains and comic strip action.
But despite its popularity, the show - which also starred Joanne Lumley, was never quite as successful as the original 1960s spy British spy series.
Mr Hunt went on to make several films including Jackie Collins’ The World is Full of Married Men and Michael Winner’s Parting Shots.
He also played Thomas Warner in The Love School and was in Family at War, Hammer House of Horror and Minder.
But it was his lucrative coffee commercials, in which he appeared for more than 10 years, which provided him with a decent income.
He did appear in pantomimes and at one point abandoned acting to pursue a business venture developing a CD-Rom of British actors, but it was unsuccessful.
In 2001, he made something of a TV comeback, with a cameo as a hitman in EastEnders. He ended up being one of the suspects in the ‘who shot Phil Mitchell?’ storyline.
In the same year, he joined the cast of the soap Night and Day and also appeared in the BBC series Doctors and New Tricks.
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