Spartacus star gone but never forgotten! R.I.P Andy Whitfield

I will never forget the day when I opened the door at Screenwise and there stood before me Andy Whitfield, an Adonis. He said in his beautiful Welsh voice, ‘Hi I’m not an actor, but I’ve got this audition for All Saints and I was wondering if you could help me with it’. I sat him in front of the camera, and I knew then this man was going to be a huge movie star. A week later he came back and said ‘I got that role thanks to you, so I think I’d be very foolish not to take your classes’.

That was the beginning of an extraordinary journey for Andy Whitfield. While studying at Screenwise an Agent spotted him, and from there he scored the lead role of the Arc Angel Gabriel in the sci-fi fantasy Gabriel. The roles then started gushing in, but Andy was very careful on what he chose to do and how long he chose to do it for, he was hanging out for the big one.

And then it came, Spartacus Blood & Sand which propelled him into TV Stardom. Sadly at the height of his stardom, Andy was struck down with non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and he lost his final battle. Andy was a gentle man, and a beautiful soul. He will be painfully missed by his family, friends, fans and anyone who was lucky to know him. RIP dear friend. Lights down, curtain closed.

Denise Roberts