Jacqueline Pearce has died of lung cancer, aged 74.
Pearce made her debut in the 1966 Hammer classic The Plague of the Zombies but is known less for her film work than for her role in possibly the campest science fiction TV series ever.
As Servalan, the Supreme Commander of the evil Federation, Pearce bestrode Blake’s 7like a feather-trimmed colossus. Long before strong female role models became a television staple, Servalan knew what she wanted – and crushed any man who stood in her way beneath strappy sandals and with some snappy one-liners.
The rebel leader Blake (and then his second-in-command, Avon) was nominally the hero, but it was Servalan who kept people tuning in.
During a break in her career, she moved to South Africa for several years, initially to care for orphaned monkeys. In her autobiography From Byfleet to the Bush (2012), she was candid about being abandoned by her mother at 16 months, her spell in a psychiatric hospital and her struggles with mental health issues.
She nevertheless remained a glamorous force of nature – even when hard up and between jobs she would cash her dole cheque and immediately head to the West End to buy champagne.
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As Servalan, the Supreme Commander of the evil Federation, Pearce bestrode Blake’s 7 like a feather-trimmed colossus. Long before strong female role models became a television staple, Servalan knew what she wanted – and crushed any man who stood in her way beneath strappy sandals and with some snappy one-liners.
