It was unexpected to meet a large, friendly-looking swan at the entrance to the Moat House Hotel.  But, the Great River Ouse at Bedford is home to a great many swans, so maybe it’s little wonder that one of them occasionally decides to see what’s going on in the hotel, which is situated, in a rather pleasant spot, right by the river.  On this particular weekend, 15th/16th March, if he had managed to climb the steps into reception, and negotiated the alarmingly fierce outward-swinging automatic doors without mishap, he would have been in for a treat….

An incredibly impressive array of guests had been brought together by 10thplanet and the Avon club for Star One, a special celebration of 25 years of Blake’s 7 - Paul Darrow, Janet Lees Price, Gareth Thomas, Steven Pacey, Jacqueline Pearce, Sally Knyvette, Jan Chappell, and Scott Fredericks.  During the two-day convention, they were joined by Patricia Merrick, who has worked with Paul Darrow and Scott Fredericks on the Kaldor City CD series, and Hattie Hayridge, of Red Dwarf fame.

It would have been impossible to attend everything in the busy programme, which ran from 10am to 5pm-ish each day.  However, the schedule had been carefully planned so that, although Interviews, Autograph and Photo Sessions ran concurrently, it was possible to catch guests at all three sessions some time during the day.  So, if you’d ever wanted to meet one of the B7 cast, or had a burning question you’d been dying to ask one of them – this was your big opportunity; either at one of the main hall Interviews or, more personally, at one of the Coffee Clubs or Autograph/Photo Sessions.

The Coffee Clubs proved very popular.  Both mornings, Paul conducted a mini-auction for these; attendees bidding for the privilege of spending half an hour with one of the guests – there being no more than 10 people attending each Club.  All bids were accepted, from a heady £40, to a bargain basement £1.50 offered by impoverished students, of whom Paul seemed to think there was an improbable number!  Proceeds went to the convention charity, Denville Hall, a retirement home for elderly members of the entertainment profession.

Paul and Janet also presided over an Auction and Raffle – Janet embracing her ‘Debbie McGee’ role with enthusiasm.  Items ranging from an original painting of Paul as ‘Oberon’, to a cowboy hat, complete with photo to prove Paul had worn it, were snapped up, the former going for just over £400.  Two very lucky people won the Raffle and were whisked away in chauffeur-driven splendour to another hotel on the Sunday morning for ‘breakfast with Paul’ and ‘breakfast with Gareth’.

Interview sessions involved more than one guest at a time – Paul, Steven and Janet  – Jacqueline and Scott  – Sally and Jan  – and so on.  There was much good-natured teasing and banter, and a lot of laughter, although some serious discussion from time to time.  Questions from the floor were many and varied, as were the answers.  Often in a roundabout sort of way, the audience learned all kinds of things….

Steven may have had only a very hazy recollection of his time as Del Tarrant, but he can do a marvellous impression of David Essex singing ‘Only a Winter’s Tale’, as well as a formidable ‘Tony Blair’.  In answer to the question ‘If Charlie Dimmock and the ‘Ground Force’ team tackled your garden, what would you like them to do?’, Steven promptly named a type of climbing plant he would like, surprising everyone by giving its Latin name.  By which we gathered he was a keen gardener.  Not to be outdone, Paul announced he would like something Janet wasn’t keen on – a gnome.  Later in the day, his wish came true when he was presented with a gnome, of the ‘paint your own’ variety, which Janet selflessly offered to paint for him.

Paul confirmed he still had an interest in wine.  However, any visions of a wine cellar of vast proportions under the Darrow household were firmly dispelled by Janet, who divulged he had a wine rack situated in the cupboard under the stairs, alongside the hoover.  As to other interests – Paul didn’t wash cars or tend the garden, but he loved shopping for food, with the assistance of a number of helpful checkout ladies.  ‘They must think he’s a widower or gay,’ Janet observed, nonetheless delighted he enjoyed doing a chore she hated.

Sally touched on the question of being stalked by obsessive fans.  She mentioned a particularly unpleasant case, which took place some years ago, when she often received calls from someone in prison.  Just then, her mobile phone rang.  Could it be him?  Fortunately not, but it was a dramatic moment!  Jacqueline mentioned being asked to go round to a man’s house to chastise him, but not to go until after 10pm when his mother would be in bed.  ‘And she was,’ said Jacqueline, to much laughter.  Janet recalled an occasion when some fans had discovered the address of a house they used to live in.  She was hanging out the washing when, from the other side of the fence, a voice wailed, ‘Oh no!  Avon wears pyjamas!’   ‘Wincyette,’ Paul added, helpfully.

Steven thought he could probably still fit into the costumes he wore as Tarrant, but not that he’d want to.  The fastenings were put in such inaccessible places as to make answering calls of nature well nigh impossible.  Sally said she had no regrets leaving the programme at the end of series 2, and Jacqueline expressed her dissatisfaction with her role as the series progressed – particularly mentioning her bemusement on discovering she was no longer ‘Servalan’ but ‘Sleer’, a name she thought particularly unattractive.

What was Paul like to live with?  ‘A pussycat downstairs and a tiger in the bedroom,’ said Janet, promptly.  ‘He paid me to say that,’ she added.  ‘The things she’ll do for a pound,’ said Paul….

At 7pm on the Saturday, those who were attending the Celebrity Dinner gathered in the bar outside the main hall, dressed in their finery, ready for a wonderful evening.   The doors opened at 7.30pm and everyone was seated at their allotted tables by the time the guests arrived.  The guests were to move tables in between courses, in a clockwise direction – a wonderful idea, but quite amusing in practice.  On our table, Jan sat down to have her soup, but looked as though she was about to take flight any moment, thinking it was time to move on.  Gareth and Patricia arrived during the main course – Gareth clutching a bottle of wine and a glass, just in case – and Paul accompanied dessert, in between smoking breaks.  The meal was followed by a cabaret, with Paul as MC, a role he does so well.  Scott Fredericks took the stage first, with an atmospheric recital of Yeats.   In contrast, Patricia Merrick, whilst impersonating Mrs. Thatcher (complete with handbag), sang a well-known song amusingly adapted to feature Paul.  Finally, Hattie Hayridge performed her hilarious stand-up comic routine, finishing with a highly original excuse for anyone who wanted to bunk off work on the Monday, which had Paul wiping his eyes and declaring no one could possibly follow that.

And it would be very difficult to follow ‘Star One’, although rumour has it that Derek of Tenth Planet is already considering ‘Star One’ Mark II…….!