Actress Jacqueline Pearce, best known for her role in ‘Blake’s 7’ has died at the age of 75, following a short battle with lung cancer.
Her friend John Ainsworth said she had been diagnosed “just a couple of weeks ago”, and was being cared for at home after leaving hospital.
Sharing his memories of his friend, John said: “She was outrageous, she was very honest and very straightforward, which didn’t always go down very well, but you knew where you were with her.
“She liked a glass of champagne and liked everyone to have a good time with her, and of course she was a brilliant actress and everyone who worked with her remembered her very fondly.”
Jacqueline was prominent on screen in the 60s and 70s and starred in several films and TV shows.
However, she was best known for playing the villain Servalan in the sci-fi hit ‘Blake’s 7’, a character which was only initially supposed to appear in one episode, but eventually starred in all four series due to the popularity of Jaqueline’s portrayal.
‘Blake’s 7’ was created by Terry Nation, who created the Daleks in ‘Doctor Who’. Jaqueline appeared in a guest role as Chessene, in ‘The Two Doctors’ episodes of the BBC children’s sci-fi in 1985.
Jacqueline trained trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts alongside other stats such as Anthony Hopkins and John Hurt.
She spent a lot of time working with Russell T Davies, who was responsible for producing many sci-fi shows and was instrumental in bringing about the modern reincarnation of ‘Doctor Who’.
In a statement, Russell said: “It was a joy working with Jacqueline on the first drama I ever wrote, ‘Dark Season’. She was glorious, vivid, passionate, filthy and the most wonderful company. And underneath the style and the laughter, a truly fine actor.”
After the peak of her television career she moved to South Africa for several years caring for orphaned monkeys, until she returned in 2015.
She published her autobiography, ‘From Byfleet to the Bush’, in 2012.
