Zienia Merton (11 December 1945 – 14 September 2018)
was a British actress born in
Burma
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
. She was known for playing
Sandra Benes
''Space: 1999'' is a British science-fiction television programme that ran for two series from 1975 to 1977. In the opening episode, set in the year 1999, nuclear waste stored on the Moon's far side explodes, knocking the Moon out of orbit an ...
in ''
Space: 1999''.
Early career
Merton was the daughter of Minny and Cecil Burton. Her mother was
Burmese, and her father was a half-English, half-French merchant. She was raised in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
,
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
and
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. She was educated at first in Portugal, but was later sent to Arts Educational school (today the
Tring Park School for the Performing Arts
Tring Park School for the Performing Arts is an independent co-educational school offering specialist courses in Dance, Commercial Music, Musical Theatre and Acting for 8–19 year olds. Originally known as the Arts Educational School, Tring Pa ...
) in Hertfordshire.
Her first stage performance was as a dancer (playing a rat) in a Christmas 1957 production of ''
The Nutcracker
''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchai ...
'' ballet at the
Royal Festival Hall.
Merton's first significant science-fiction credit was as Ping-Cho in the 1964 ''
Doctor Who'' story ''
Marco Polo'',
long since
lost in its original form. Her other early television appearances included ''
Strange Report
''Strange Report'' is a British television crime drama series starring Anthony Quayle as Adam Strange. It was produced by ITC Entertainment and first broadcast in 1969 on ITV
In the United States, NBC broadcast ''Strange Report'' between 8 Ja ...
'' (1968), ''
The Six Wives of Henry VIII'' (1970) and ''
Jason King'' (1971). She was a lead actress as Christina in the 1971
Dennis Potter
Dennis Christopher George Potter (17 May 1935 – 7 June 1994) was an English television dramatist, screenwriter and journalist. He is best known for his BBC television serials '' Pennies from Heaven'' (1978), ''The Singing Detective'' (198 ...
TV adaptation of ''
Casanova
Giacomo Girolamo Casanova (, ; 2 April 1725 – 4 June 1798) was an Italian adventurer and author from the Republic of Venice. His autobiography, (''Story of My Life''), is regarded as one of the most authentic sources of information about the c ...
'' with
Frank Finlay
Francis Finlay, (6 August 1926 – 30 January 2016) was an English stage, film and television actor, Oscar-nominated for a supporting role as Iago in Laurence Olivier's 1965 film adaptation of ''Othello''.
In 1983, Finlay was directed by Ital ...
,
and appeared on ''
The Benny Hill Show
''The Benny Hill Show'' is a British comedy television show starring Benny Hill that aired on the BBC and ITV (from 1969) between 15 January 1955 and 1 May 1989. The show consisted mainly of sketches that were full of slapstick, mime, parody ...
'' in 1972, playing the wife of Hill's Chow Mein character. Her film roles included a brief appearance as an Asian high priestess in
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...
' film ''
Help!
''Help!'' is the fifth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles and the soundtrack to their film of the same name. It was released on 6 August 1965. Seven of the fourteen songs, including the singles " Help!" and " Ticket to Ride", ...
'' (1965), as Ting Ling in the film ''
The Chairman'' (1969) with
Gregory Peck, and ''
The Adventurers'' (1970).
''Space: 1999''
Probably her most notable role is that of
Sandra Benes
''Space: 1999'' is a British science-fiction television programme that ran for two series from 1975 to 1977. In the opening episode, set in the year 1999, nuclear waste stored on the Moon's far side explodes, knocking the Moon out of orbit an ...
in ''
Space: 1999'', the science fiction series produced by
Gerry Anderson
Gerald Alexander Anderson (; 14 April 1929 – 26 December 2012) was an English television and film producer, director, writer and occasional voice artist. He remains famous for his futuristic television programmes, especially his 1960s produ ...
and
Sylvia Anderson
Sylvia Beatrice Anderson (; 25 March 1927 – 15 March 2016) was an English television and film producer, writer, voice actress and costume designer, best known for her collaborations with Gerry Anderson, her husband between 1960 and 1981. In a ...
between 1973 and 1976, with
Martin Landau
Martin James Landau (; June 20, 1928 – July 15, 2017) was an American actor, acting coach, producer, and editorial cartoonist. His career began in the 1950s, with early film appearances including a supporting role in Alfred Hitchcock's ''North ...
,
Barbara Bain
Barbara Bain (born Mildred Fogel; September 13, 1931) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Cinnamon Carter on the action television series '' Mission: Impossible'' (1966–1969), which earned her three Primetime Emmy Awa ...
,
Barry Morse
Herbert Morse (10 June 19182 February 2008), known professionally as Barry Morse, was a British-Canadian actor of stage, screen, and radio, best known for his roles in the ABC television series '' The Fugitive'' and the British sci-fi drama '' ...
and
Catherine Schell
Catherine Schell (born Katherina ''Freiin'' Schell von Bauschlott, 17 July 1944) is a Hungarian-born actress who came to prominence in British film and television productions from the 1960s. Her notable roles include the Bond girl Nancy in ''O ...
. In 1999, Merton reprised this role in the short film ''Message from Moonbase Alpha'', written by series writer
Johnny Byrne. Its debut was at the closing ceremony of the ''Breakaway 1999'' convention
in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
, California, US on 13 September 1999; the date on which the moon is blasted out of
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
orbit in the
pilot episode of the original series.
Other performances
Following ''Space: 1999'', Merton appeared in many popular television series including ''
Grange Hill
''Grange Hill'' is a British children's television drama series, originally produced by the BBC and portraying life in a typical comprehensive school. The show began its run on 8 February 1978 on BBC1, and was one of the longest-running progra ...
'',
''
Return of the Saint
''Return of the Saint'' is a British action-adventure television series that aired for one series in 1978 and 1979 in Britain on ITV, and was also broadcast on CBS in the United States. It was co-produced by ITC Entertainment and the Italian b ...
'' (1979),
''
Bergerac'' (1983),
''Angels'' (1983),
''
Tenko'' (1984),
''
Dempsey & Makepeace'' (1985),
''
Lovejoy'' (1986),
''
Crime Traveller
''Crime Traveller'' is a 1997 science fiction detective television series produced by Carnival Films for the BBC based on the premise of using time travel for the purpose of solving crimes.
Anthony Horowitz created the series and wrote every e ...
'' (1997), ''
Doctors'' (2001),
''
Dinotopia
''Dinotopia'' is a series of illustrated fantasy books, created by author and illustrator James Gurney. It is set in the titular Dinotopia, an isolated island inhabited by shipwrecked humans and sapient dinosaurs who have learned to coexist p ...
'' (2002), ''
Casualty
Casualty may refer to:
*Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster
**Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare
* The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...
'' (1986–2002),
''
EastEnders'' (1998–2003),
''
The Bill
''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983.
The programme focused o ...
'' (1999–2005),
''
Judge John Deed
''Judge John Deed'' is a British legal drama television series produced by the BBC in association with One-Eyed Dog for BBC One. It was created by G.F. Newman and stars Martin Shaw as Mr Justice Deed, a High Court judge who tries to seek real j ...
'' (2006), ''
Coronation Street'' (2008)
and ''
Wire in the Blood
''Wire in the Blood'' is a British crime drama television series, created and produced by Coastal Productions for Tyne Tees Television and broadcast on ITV from 14 November 2002 to 31 October 2008. The series is based on characters created by ...
'' (2008).
In December 2008, Merton filmed a guest role for the eighth episode ("Samaritan") of the
ITV drama ''
Law & Order: UK''. Although the series premiered on 23 February 2009, some episodes were held over for broadcast as "Series Two". "Samaritan" was first transmitted on
ITV1
ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the Channel 3 public broadcast service across all of the United Kingdom except for t ...
on 11 January 2010.
In May 2009, Merton returned to the world of ''Doctor Who'', 45 years after her appearance in ''Marco Polo'', to record a special episode of ''
The Sarah Jane Adventures
''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' is a British science fiction television programme that was produced by BBC Cymru Wales for CBBC, created by Russell T Davies, and starring Elisabeth Sladen. The programme is a spin-off of the long-running BBC ...
'' in the two-part episode ''
The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith'', broadcast on
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
on 29 and 30 October 2009.
In 2018, Merton narrated BBC Audio's release of the novelisation of ''Marco Polo''. This turned out to be her final professional engagement.
Death
Merton was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2017, and died 14 September 2018.
Books
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Merton, Zienia
1945 births
2018 deaths
20th-century British actresses
21st-century British actresses
Anglo-Burmese people
British actresses of Asian descent
British film actresses
British people of Burmese descent
Place of death missing
British people of French descent
British soap opera actresses
British television actresses
People from Maungdaw