Gareth Hunt RIP

[Stephen Morgan]

News just announced on Radio 2, Gareth Hunt, Gambit of The New Avengers, and Arak in Planet of the Spiders, has died aged 65.
Another sad loss, and not so old either.

[Pip Madeley]

Actor Gareth Hunt, star of The New Avengers, has died of pancreatic cancer aged 65, his agent has announced. Hunt played the role of Mike Gambit in the TV series, alongside Joanna Lumley's Purdey and Patrick McNee as John Steed.

In later years he became well known as the face of Nescafe with a trademark handshake to reveal coffee beans.

He also had a role in the Doctor Who story Planet of the Spiders and briefly appeared in EastEnders.

A statement from his agent said: "He fought the disease with great courage and through his strength of character and his wonderful sense of humour he continued to work right up until the end of 2006."

Hunt is survived by his wife, Amanda, and three sons.

Not so old at all...

[SiHart]

Oh my. What really sad news. I saw him in an episode of Doctors recently and he looked really well, so I had no idea he was so ill.

Si xx

[Ralph]

Thats dreadful news!

I'm really sorry to hear that.

[Rob McCow]

Oh no!



That's really bad news

[Si Hunt]

Poor Gareth Hunt, that's quite a shock for some reason.

Si.

[Dirk Gently]

That's really sad news. I'm still watching him in the role that made him famous - Mike Gambit.

R.I.P Gareth.

[Trudi G]

I didn't know about it till i read it just now - i always watched The New Avengers when i was younger. It's very sad, he's only a couple of years older than my mum.

[Wayne]

A great shame, as he was relatively young.
Co-incidentally, a musician friend of mine died from pancreatic cancer last year, & he was also taken young at only 58.
Anyway, RIP Gareth.

[Pamela]

Shame-I knew he'd had serious heart problems, but I thought he'd got over it.

[MacNimon]

This was a bit of a shock...I didn't know about this till I saw this thread, and I had no idea that he was ill.

[MacNimon]

This was a bit of a shock...I didn't know about this till I saw this thread, and I had no idea that he was ill. He'll be missed.

[Avon]

Actor "GARET HUNT" has died aged 65 from pancreatic cancer.



Although, he was best known for "MIKE GAMBIT" in, "THE NEW AVENGERS". He was also in "PLANET OF THE SPIDERS" (as, "ARAK").

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6449881.stm



R.I.P.

[Andrew Curnow]

Like Si said above, I've found this quite a big shock for some reason. Somehow he was one of those faces who always used to pop up in things - sometimes as a main star, sometimes in perhaps a guest or cameo role, but he was (and to be honest probably due to the New Avengers and perhaps even more his Nescafe ads) always around, and a genuine household name. Plus, whether or not he was I don't know, but he always came across as a nice, ordinary guy. And 65 really isn't that old these days. How sad.

[Captain Tancredi]

It probably says something that BBCi described him as "Avengers actor Gareth Hunt", in that apart from the Nescafe ads, he's not one of those actors you could pin down to more than one or two things. A household name, yes, but not necessarily always as an actor- by the mid-1980s he was probably more associated with Nescafe and celebrity panel games than with acting roles.

I do however feel slightly awkward at having 'Planet of the Spiders' on Ebay at the moment, although I'm resisting the temptation to add "guest starring the late Gareth Hunt" to the item description...

[WhiteCrow]

He was some kind of guest star on some show called (I think) Doctors recently, he played a dad who lived with his son, whose sex life with a new woman was upsetting his son.

Thought how well he looked in it. Shame.

[P-Bal]

Gosh! I had no idea. Really sad news.

[Carol Baynes]

This is so bad.

RIP Gareth. This Nescafe is for you.

[Dave Tudor]

Like others, this has come as a quite a shock, as I had no idea he was ill either.

He always used to be an ever-present on telly when I was little, whether it was repeats of 'The New Avengers', or the Nescafe adverts or guesting on 'Give Us A Clue' or 'Blankety Blank' or what-have-you. Yet in recent years, he was hardly on TV at al, the last big series I recall him appearing in being 'EastEnders' a couple of years ago.

Very, very sad news. Rest in peace.

[Larry]

Another sad loss, and not so old either.

sadly cancer is no respecter of age.

I had no idea he had even died I saw his name on the O.G home page and did not think any thing of it as I just assumed it was some thing to do with an appearance in the new series. Still a sad loss R.I.P Gareth.

[Captain Tancredi]

Looking at some of the obituaries, it looks as if he moved into theatre in the 1980s, probably as a consequence of being too closely associated with the coffee ads to get really top-notch screen work. Seems by all accounts to have been a generous professional who didn't take his celebrity status for granted.

[Simon R]

He was in short-lived and surreal ITV Soap "Night & Day" a few years ago. He would have been ideal for a longer running role in EastEnders.

[Thasc]

Very sad news

RIP Gareth

[Ralph]

The link in the 2007 DVD speculation thread was really good to read in relation to Gareth's involvement with Planet of the Spiders. It's sad though that he was unable to contribute to the commentary.