Jacqueline Pearce


Jacqueline Pearce was a British film and television actress. Her roles included horror and comedy; she was best known as the villain Servalan in the British science fiction TV series Blake's 7.

Early life

Pearce was born in Woking, Surrey, in 1943. Her mother left the family when she was 16 months old and she grew up between her father's home and a foster family. She attended the Marist Convent School for Girls at West Byfleet. She trained at the British stage school Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and at Lee Strasberg's Actors Studio in Los Angeles.

Career

Films

Pearce starred in two Hammer horror films, The Plague of the Zombies and The Reptile, which were filmed simultaneously on the same location and both released in 1966. Other film roles include Sky West and Crooked, the Carry On film Don't Lose Your Head, Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River, White Mischief, How to Get Ahead in Advertising, and Princess Caraboo.

TV appearances

As well as appearing in the BBC children's programmes Dark Season and Moondial, Pearce appeared in the Doctor Who serial The Two Doctors as Chessene, a bloodthirsty alien. She was associated with Doctor Who through her appearance in The Fearmonger as Sherilyn Harper, an audio drama by Big Finish Productions, and as Admiral Mettna in the webcast story Death Comes to Time. Pearce returned once again to Doctor Who from 2015, this time opposite John Hurt, as a regular in the Big Finish audio series based on the adventures of the War Doctor, portraying Cardinal Ollistra, a leader of the Time Lords in the Time War who often clashes with the Eighth Doctor and the War Doctor over how far the Time Lords should be willing to go to achieve victory.
She remains best known for her role as Servalan in the British science fiction TV series Blake's 7. The character was originally written for one episode, but was expanded to a regular role over four series due to Pearce's popularity.
She appeared in the role of Rosa Dartle in the BBC dramatisation of Charles Dickens' David Copperfield and a television version of Christopher Hampton's stage play The Philanthropist as Araminta which was first broadcast in 1975. She also appeared as an associate of the assassin Carlos in the television movie, The Bourne Identity.
Pearce also made guest appearances in TV series such as Danger Man, The Avengers, Public Eye, Callan, Dead of Night, Special Branch, The Zoo Gang, Spy Trap, and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.. She appeared in two episodes of the spy series Man in a Suitcase, unusually in different roles within the same season.
Pearce suffered from clinical depression during periods of her life. She was the subject of the third volume of MJTV's "The Actor Speaks" interview/drama CDs, with a special piece written for her by Tanith Lee.

Death

Pearce was diagnosed with lung cancer in August 2018 and died on 3 September 2018 at her home in Lancashire.