Alexandra Bastedo

Alexandra Lendon Bastedo (9 March 1946 – 12 January 2014) was a British actress, best known for her role as secret agent Sharron Macready in the 1968 British espionage/science fiction adventure series ''The Champions''. Bastedo was a vegetarian and animal welfare advocate, and wrote a number of books on both subjects.

Early life

Bastedo was born in Hove, England. Her mother (Liberiana Dorina Rescagliova 1917–2001) was of French, German and Italian descent, while her Canadian-born father (Gilbert Lendon Bastedo 1915–1985) was of Spanish, Dutch, Scottish and native American extraction. She attended Brighton and Hove High School and Brighton School of Drama.

Professional career

Bastedo made her film debut as one of the title characters in William Castle's poorly received ''13 Frightened Girls'' (1963). She gained attention on the European continent, earning her the nickname, "La Bastedo". One of her first appearances in popular culture was in the 1966 film ''Doctor in Clover'' where she appears as a young nurse dancing with Sir Lancelot at a party (a non-speaking role).

Although most familiar to viewers of 1960s TV as Sharron Macready in ''The Champions'', she was also known for her language skills, speaking Italian, Spanish, French and German. This ability brought her to the attention of 10 Downing Street, where she was employed to assist with translations, and landed her the role of co-presenter of Miss World competitions with Peter Marshall in the 1980s.

In 1979, she played in the series ''The Aphrodite Inheritance''. In 1988, Bastedo was the cover star for ''Rank'', a live album by British band The Smiths that charted at number 2 on the UK Albums Chart. In 1992, she appeared in "Fat" – the second broadcast episode of ''Absolutely Fabulous'', playing a 1960s model associate of Edina and Patsy. She was seen in two episodes of '' The Saint'' series, alongside Roger Moore.

In 2006, Bastedo was reunited for the first time with her co-stars from ''The Champions'' to provide commentaries and an interview for a DVD release of the show. Still working as an actress, she appeared in ''Batman Begins'', and touring theatres in 2006 with a production of ''Beyond Reasonable Doubt'' alongside Leslie Grantham and Simon Ward. In 2008, she joined the cast of ''EastEnders'', playing Cynthia. In January 2008, she appeared as co-presenter (with Ed Stewart) of "The Magic of Mantovani" at Lighthouse, Poole. The success of this concert led, the following year, to a second concert at the same venue, with the Mantovani Orchestra, which she again co-presented.

Personal life

Bastedo dated David Frost and Omar Sharif, but turned down the advances of Steve McQueen who, she recalled, propositioned her with the line, "My wife doesn't understand me". In the case of Sharif, the liaison lasted only a few weeks because of the actor's bridge-playing, his odd hours and the fact that he took telephone numbers from other women.

Mike Tomkies, the Fleet Street journalist who abandoned the life of a celebrity reporter to live alone in the wilderness, lived with her for a while in Canada, and they talked of marriage, but she was prohibited from marrying by a contract for ''The Champions'' (1968 to 69). He said that she was the "most stunningly beautiful creature" he had ever seen.

In 1980, at Chichester Cathedral, Bastedo married Patrick Garland,"Patrick Garland, theatre producer and director, dies aged 78"
BBC News, 20 April 2013 a director, writer and actor; he became a long-serving director of the Chichester Festival Theatre. Bastedo wrote a memoir, ''Beware Dobermanns, Donkeys and Ducks'', as well as several books on caring for cats and dogs. Her husband died on 19 April 2013.

Animal welfare

Bastedo was a vegetarian and the founder of Alexandra Bastedo Champions (ABC) Animal Sanctuary. In an interview for the BBC
...