
Friday 28th to Sunday 30th September 2018
Holiday Inn, Brentford Lock, London
Holiday Inn, Brentford Lock, London
CYGNUS ALPHA 4.0
NEWS & UPDATES
NEWS & UPDATES

03/10/2018


04/09/2018
Jacqueline Pearce
20th December 1943-3rd September 2018
We were sad to hear about Jacqueline Pearce passing away. We loved working with Jacs at Cygnus Alpha 2 and other events and we know she was looking forward to appearing at Cygnus Alpha 4.0.
Not only will the event be celebrating 40 years of Blake's 7, we will also celebrate the life and memory of 'Darling Jacs' and we are planning something very special.
Thank you Jacs for everything.
#Darling

30/08/2018
Guest Announcement
We are happy to announce that actress Judy Matheson will be appearing at Cygnus Alpha 4.0. Judy played a Mutoid in the series 3 story, "Volcano".



08/08/2018
Making Blake's 7 at Cygnus Alpha 4.0
It is with great excitement that we can announce that the person behind the exciting, entertaining and informative @MakingBlakes7 twitter account will be giving a special live presentation about the making of Blake's 7 at Cygnus Alpha 4.0. His presentation will include rare pictures and we will discover new things about the show we all love.





Other credits include The Avenges, The Brothers, This Life and Law and Order UK.

31/05/2018
Miles Fothergill Private Signing
It is with great pleasure that we can announce a private signing opportunity with Miles Fothergill. Miles played Novara in 'The Web'. He is also known by Doctor Who fans for playing SV7 in the Tom Baker story 'Robots of Death' written by Chris Boucher.

Sadly actor David Boyce can no longer attend Cygnus Alpha 4.0 due to a work commitment. However, David will now be one of our private signing guests. You can purchase his autograph by visiting the Cygnus Shop.
Click here for Cygnus Shop

Full event details can be found at http://www.hamex.co.uk/

BLAKE'S SEVEN - 7 STARS LIBERATED FROM THE CLASSIC TV SERIES! will feature archive interviews with GARETH THOMAS (Blake), JACQUELINE PEARCE (Servalan), JAN CHAPPELL (Cally), STEPHEN GREIF (Travis), PETER TUDDENHAM (Zen, Orac & Slave) and VFX guru MAT IRVINE! PLUS a brand-new MYTH MAKERS with MICHAEL KEATING (Vila).

08/04/2018
Private Signings for Cygnus Alpha 4.0
We are happy to announce the following private signing opportunities from people who worked on Blake's 7 but are unable to attend Cygnus Alpha 4.0.
The first is with Chris Boucher. Chris worked as a writer and script editor of Blake's 7.
The second is with actress Caroline Holdaway who played "Piri" in the season 4 story, Assassin.
Orders can be placed by visiting the Cygnus Shop.

BONUS GUEST ANNOUNCEMENT
It is with great excitement that we can now announce Josette Simon OBE will be joining us for Cygnus Alpha 4.0, an event celebrating 40 years of Blake’s 7 taking place at The Holiday Inn, Brentford Lock, London on the 28th to 30th September 2018.
Josette will be appearing on the evening of Friday 28th of September for “An Evening With Josette Simon OBE”
There will be an additional cost of £15 per autograph and the cost of an 8x10 photo with Josette will be £15 for attendees of Cygnus Alpha 4.0.
Attendees will also receive a free A4 art card, featuring Josette Simon as Dayna, designed and donated by Damien May in their registration pack.
But that’s not all!
We are happy to be able to offer a limited amount of 30 tickets for “An Evening With Josette Simon”. This will cost £50.00 and includes one autograph, one 8x10 photo with Josette and access to the onstage interview.
You can get your tickets for either Cygnus Alpha 4.0 or An Evening with Josette Simon OBE by visiting http://www.cygnusalpha.org/tickets





Today is also 40 years since the first appearance of a Blake’s 7 icon and it is with great pleasure and excitement to be able to announce that Jacqueline Pearce will be attending Cygnus Alpha 4.0 in September. Jacqueline played Servalan throughout the entire 4 year run of Blake’s 7 and continues to play her in the Big Finish Audio range. It is with huge thanks to John Ainsworth for making this is possible. Get your ticket now from www.cygnusalpha.org

Today makes 40 years since “Seek, Locate, Destroy” was transmitted. This story showed the first encounter between the crew of the Liberator and Travis. So what better time to announce that actor Stephen Greif will be appearing at Cygnus Alpha 4.0 in September. Get your ticket now from www.cygnusalpha.org

The second of the guest announcements this evening for Cygnus Alpha 4.0 is director Brian Lighthill. Brian directed the series 4 stories “Gold” and “Orbit”. Get your ticket now from www.cygnusalpha.org

The next guest announcement for Cygnus Alpha 4.0 taking place on Friday 28th September to Sunday 30th September 2018 is director Andrew Morgan. Andrew directed the series story “Children of Auron”. Get your ticket now from www.cygnusalpha.org



Get your ticket now!






02/01/2018

Our Fourth and final guest announcement for this anniversary evening is
someone who will be making their Blake’s 7 convention debut.
Joining us at
Cygnus Alpha 4.0 is latest actress to travel the galaxy aboard The Liberator, Yasmin Bannerman.
Yasmin has taken over from Josette Simon playing “Dayna” for the Big Finish audio range.

The Third guest announcement this evening is the man who designed
not only the interior of the Liberator but also the exterior model.
Roger Murray-Leach will be joining us for Cygnus Alpha 4.0.
Roger worked on the Season 1 episodes, “Space Fall”, “Time Squad”, “Duel” and “Bounty”.

The Second guest announcement this evening takes up to the latest Blake's 7 Big Finish Audio release. The writer of the 40th Anniversary story, ‘The Way Ahead’ Mark Wright will be joining us for Cygnus Alpha 4.0. Mark has written a number of stories for the Blake’s 7 range and alongside his writing partner Cav Scott, he was the producer of the range.
Get your copy now by going to https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/blake-s-7-the-way-ahead-40th-anniversary-special-1656

The Way Back & The Way Ahead
40 years ago today Blake’s 7 launched and is remembered by so many people through out the world with love and fondness for the crew of the Liberator and the struggles against the Federation.
The First of four announcements this evening is the man who bought the first episode, ‘The Way Back’ to our screens. Director Michael E Briant will be joining us for Cygnus Alpha 4.0 on the 28th-30th September 2018 at The Holiday Inn, Brentford Lock, London.
Michael also directed the season 1 episodes, ‘The Web’, Project Avalon’ and ‘Deliverance’.

30/09/2017
ORAC
Our final guest announcement for this weekend is actor Alistair Lock. Alistair is well known for playing Orac and Zen on the Big Finish Blake's 7 audio range.
We will announce our next guest on Tuesday 2nd of January 2018, the 40th Anniversary day.

29/09/2017
And the next guest is...
Joining us next year at Cygnus Alpha 4.0 is actor Christian Roberts. Christian played Dr. Renor in the season 1 story "Breakdown".

28/09/2017
The Countdown to Cygnus Alpha 4.0
With now exactly a year to go until Cygnus Alpha 4.0, we will be releasing 3 guests over the next 3 days. The first of our announcements is that actor John Wyman who played Cancer in the episode "Assassin".

05/09/2017
A Thank You From Sally
As a thank you for donating to to Sally Knyvette's 25K walk this weekend, Cygnus Alpha has teamed up with artist extraordinaire Damien May. For the first 100 people who donate £10 or more to Sally, you will receive a limited edition signed print as a thank you.
Please note that it is only one per person!
In order to claim your signed print, all we ask is that you send proof of your donation via email to cygnus_alpha@outlook.com and we will send you a PayPal request to cover the postage. We will be asking for £3.00 and any money left over will be donated.
You will receive your signed print in a few weeks time once Sally has recovered!

27/08/2017
CYGNUS ALPHA @ WHOOVERVILLE UPDATE!
Due to work commitments, Dicken Ashworth is no longer able to attend Whooverville on Saturday 2nd of September.
However not all is lost! I am happy to announce that actor Daniel Hill will be attending. Daniel played Chris Parsons in the classic Doctor Who story Shada.
Along with Daniel will be his wife, Olivia Hill who worked on Shada as a production assistant and then again in Castrovalva.
Autographs will be £10 each and look out for special offers!

With over a year to go until Cygnus Alpha 4.0, we are happy to announce that over half the tickets have now gone. We would also like to remind that attendees of Cygnus Alpha 3 have until 1st of September 2017 to claim their 10% discount!
GUEST UPDATE
We have decided to keep further guest announcements top secret for the moment so that Federation spies do not report back! We will begin announcing guests on Tuesday 2nd January 2018, the 40th anniversary day! We will the announce a subsequent guest the following Tuesday. We already have a further 9 confirmed guests to reveal, some of which are series regulars, guest actors making their convention debuts and behind the scenes people!
CONVENTION UPDATE
It is with great pleasure that we welcome back the lovely Gary Holland along with his impressive display of original costumes from the series. We are looking to host the biggest ever collection of original costumes. If you have any original costumes that you would like to display, please contact us.
WRITERS ROOM
We will be dedicating an entire area of the event over to the writers of the Big Finish Blake's 7 range. We will start to announce names from January 2018.
EVENING ENTERTAINMENT
We will be hosting evening entertainment on both the Friday and Saturday nights of the event. More details will come in the new year, including the Saturday night 3 course evening meal. There will be an additional charge for this. Full details including food options and the price will be confirmed in January 2017.
HOTEL ROOMS
People who have fully paid for their tickets will receive the booking code by this weekend. We have been waiting on final confirmations of the hotel. Please remember that there are near by alternative hotels.
TRAVEL TO CYGNUS ALPHA
Sadly the transport ship London will not be taking you to Cygnus Alpha. If you are looking to come to the event using public transport (Trains and Plans), contact us as we may be able to offer you money saving tips on your transport.
FACEBOOK GROUP
We will be creating a secret Facebook group which attendees will be able to join and interact with one another. Again this will be a secret group so that the Federation spies can't see what is going on! You will be contacted via email over the next week or so with details of this group.

Joining us at Cygnus Alpha 4.0 is actor John Leeson. John appeared twice in the series. First as Pascon in 'Mission to Destiny' (series 1) and then as Toise in 'Gambit' (series 2).


25/06/2017
Guest announcement for Cygnus Alpha 4.0
Joining us at Cygnus Alpha 4.0 in September 2018 is John Ainsworth. John is the current producer (and director) for the Big Finish Blake's 7 audio range. John will be there telling us what actually goes in the recording studio and if how legendary the Big Finish lunches are!


Full weekend tickets cost £140. Please see the tickets page to get your ticket and get information regarding the payment plan.
Also we can announce the first of out guests. Click on the guest section of the website to find out who is coming along!
Hope to see you all there!

09:00-10:15 Doors open and registration
10:15-10:30 Photo studio with Daniel Hill, Judy Buxton, Carol Royle & Jane Sherwin
10:30-11:30 Interview with Daniel Hill, Judy Buxton, Carol Royle & Jane Sherwin
11:30-13:00 Signing with Daniel Hill, Judy Buxton, Carol Royle & Jane Sherwin
13:00-13:20 Photo studio with Dicken Ashworth, Jenny Oulton, David Baillie, David Quilter & David Gillies
13:20-14:20 Interview with Dicken Ashworh, Jenny Oulton, David Baillie, David Quilter & David Gillies
14:20-16:00 Signing with Jenny Oulton, David Baillie, David Quilter, David Gillies & Dicken Ashworth*
16:00- 16:15 Photo studio with Sally Knyvette, Jan Chappell & Steven Pacey
16:15-17:30 Signing with Sally Knyvette, Jan Chappell & Steven Pacey
17:30- 18:30 Interview with Sally Knyvette, Jan Chappell & Steven Pacey
18:30 Raffle and goodbye.
General Event Information
Parkinson’s UK Charity Raffle & Krantor’s Sweepstake
It’s time for Krantor’s Sweepstake. This is where for £2.00 a go, you can be entered into a sweepstake to see if your ticket will become ticket number 1! This means you will be first in line for autographs.
There will also be a charity raffle. Prizes this year include a signed Liberator bracelet and a very special secret prize! Tickets are 50p each or £2 a strip.
Jan Chappell will be auctioning off an item from her own collection for her own charity.
Bonus Guest
Dicken Ashworth is a bonus guest and autographs from him are not included. In order to get an autograph you will need to buy a red token for £10.00 from Orac’s shop.
Photo studio
There will be three separate Photo studios will be taking
place just outside of the main room. Tokens will need to be bought in advance and then handed over at the photo studio
The cost of an 8x10 photo with 1 guest will cost £10.00.
The cost of an 8x10 photo group shot will cost £20.00.
There will also be a reunion photo of Dicken Ashworth and Jenny Oulton. This will cost £15.00.
Extra Autographs
If you wish to buy extra autographs, you will need to buy coloured tokens from Orac’s shop.
£5.00 Green token guests: Judy Buxton, Jane Sherwin, Daniel Hill, David Gillies, David Quilter & Jenny Oulton
£10.00 Blue token guests: Carol Royle, David Bailie, Steven Pacey, Jan Chappell & Sally
Knyvette.
Orac's Shop
There will be a selection of 8x10 photos for sale. These will cost £5.00 each. There will also be a selection of signed photos and posters for sale. Please note we can only take cash on the day.
And Finally...
We politely ask that you do not film during the event and photos are not permitted during the signing sessions with the guests.


Attendees can purchase autographs for £10.00 each. Own items to be signed must reach us by Saturday the 25th of March.
Non Attendees can purchase autographs for £15.00 each by going to Orac's shop.
PRE ORDERS NOW CLOSED!

10/03/2017
And the final guest is...
The final guest for Cygnus Alpha 3 is actor Dicken Ashworth. Dicken played Gunn-Sar in "Power". Dicken is a "bonus" guest and autographs are not included. Autographs will cost £10.
Dicken will take part in a duo photo shoot along with Jenny Oulton and they will also be on the same interview panel.

01/03/2017
The 11th guest is...
Joining us at Cygnus Alpha 3 is actress Jenny Oulton. Jenny played Nina in the series 4 episode "Power". This will be her first Blake's 7 event.

Attendees of Cygnus Alpha 3 can purchase autographs for £5.00 each. This can be either an 8x10 photo print or your own item signed. Please use the links below to make you purchases.
Non attendees can purchase 8x10 prints or have own items signed for £10.00 a signature. You can buy these in Orac's Shop.
Please note that all personal items must reach us by Friday 17th March. Attendees will be able to pick up their items at the event and non attendees will have their items sent to them shortly after the event.


You will also find signed photos from previous events for sale. Keep coming back as more will be added soon.





01/02/2017
Sixth Guest Announced
Joining us at Cygnus Alpha 3 is actress Carol Royle. Carol played the Mutoid in "Duel". This will be Carol's first ever Blake's 7 event.

Refunds for extra autographs that have been purchased will be processed this weekend.


06/01/2017
And the Fourth Guest Is...
It's with great pleasure that Jan Chappell will be joining us at Cygnus Alpha 3. Jan played Cally in series 1,2 and 3.

12/10/2016
Third Guest for Cygnus Alpha 3
The third guest for Cygnus Alpha 3 is actor Daniel Hill. Daniel played 'Chasgo' in the series 4 episode Sand.
03/10/2016
An Afternoon With Josette Simon OBE
I would just like to thank everyone who came to the event yesterday. I am sure you will agree with me when say how wonderful Josette was. She really enjoyed herself and I hope you did as well. The raffle raised over £100 for Parkinson's UK. Congratulations to the winner.
Final thanks go to the team of people who helped run the event. Thanks guys.


14/09/2016
An Afternoon With Josette Simon OBE
Sunday 2nd October 2016 at The Lost Theatre
Cygnus Alpha are please to announce it's first "Afternoon With" Events and the first guest for this is actress Josette Simon OBE. Click on the above tab for full information and tickets.

07/09/2016
First Guest Revealed
Sadly at the last event Steven Pacey could not make it. However it is with great pleasure that we can announce that Steven will be joining us for Cygnus Alpha 3. Steven is best known for playing Tarrant in series 3 and 4.

Tickets for Cygnus Alpha 3 are now on sale! Limited to 100 and like at the last event, the sooner you buy your ticket the sooner you will be called up to get your autographs.
We will also be running Krantor's sweep stake once again. This is where you have the chance to become ticket number 1 on the day for £2.00! This will go towards Parkinson's UK.
Click on the ticket tab to order your ticket.

CYGNUS ALPHA 3 LAUNCHED!
It is time to board 'The London' and head back to Cygnus Alpha!
So what's new? First of all, we have a new venue which is at The Musical Museum in Brentford. This is a two minute walk from the 2016 venue. Click on the the venue tab for full details.
Tickets will be strictly limited to 100 and remain at the price of £50.00
It is a little to early to announce guests but if you attended the previous 2 events you know exactly what is in store for you!
Tickets go on sale on September 1st 2016.

The date for next year's event can now be revealed. Cygnus Alpha 3 will take place on Saturday April 1st 2017. Full details including ticket prices will go live on the 1st of September 2016.

10/07/2016
Meet Michael
Attendees at Derby's regular Doctor Who event, Whooverville will be in for a treat as Michael Keating will be appearing as a sponsored guest. You can buy your tickets from http://whooverville.org/#Tickets
Michael will be taking part in an onstage interview, photo studio and signing*. There will also be other Blake's 7 merchandise available.
There will be a charge of £10 per signature.
