Gareth Daniel N. Thomas (born 12th February 1945 in Brentford, Middlesex; died 13th April 2016 in East Sussex) appeared on Coronation Street between May and June 1971 as businessman Mel Ryan.
He grew up in Aberystwyth, furthered his education at The King's School in Canterbury and graduated from RADA in 1966.
Best remembered for his role as Roj Blake in the BBC science-fiction series Blake's 7 between 1978 and 1981, his other television credits included Parkin's Patch, Z Cars, Public Eye, Sutherland's Law, David Copperfield, The Fight Against Slavery, How Green Was My Valley, Star Maidens, Children of the Stones, The Bell, The Citadel, Strangers and Brothers, Morgan's Boy, By the Sword Divided, Knights of God, After the War, Chelworth, London's Burning, Emlyn's Moon, The Chestnut Soldier, Crown Prosecutor, Casualty, Heartbeat, Soldiers of Love, Baddiel's Syndrome, Distant Shores and Holby City.
Film roles included Quatermass and the Pit, The Ragman's Daughter and Made in Romania.
On stage, he appeared in productions of King Lear, As You Like It, Doctor Faustus, Troilus and Cressida, Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night, Othello and Anna Christie for the Royal Shakespeare Company. Other works include Educating Rita, Beside the Sea, Benefactors, Henry IV, Henry V, Dangerous Corner, Inside Job, Dij`vu, The Crucible, Three Sisters and Of Mice and Men.
