Zienia Merton
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| Zienia Merton | |
|---|---|
| Born | 11 December 1945 Burma |
| Occupation | actress |
Zienia Merton (born 11 December 1945) is a British actress born in Burma. Her mother was Burmese, and her father half English, half French. She was raised in Singapore, Borneo, Portugal, and England. She is probably best known for playing Sandra Benes in Space: 1999.
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[edit] Early career
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 (1968), The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1970), Jason King (1971). She was a lead actress as Christina in the Dennis Potter television adaptation of Casanova with Frank Finlay, and appeared on The Benny Hill Show in 1972, playing the wife of Hill's Chow Mein character.
Zienia Merton also featured as Ting Ling in the film The Chairman (1969) with Gregory Peck.
[edit] Space: 1999
Probably her most memorable role is that of Sandra Benes in Space: 1999, the science fiction series produced by Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson in 1973-1976, with Martin Landau, Barbara Bain, Barry Morse and Catherine Schell. In 1999 Merton reprised this role in the professionally produced short film Message from Moonbase Alpha, written by series writer Johnny Byrne. This short episode surprised everyone on its debut at the closing ceremony of the Breakaway 1999 convention[1] in Los Angeles, California on September 13, 1999 - the same fictional date in the pilot episode of "Breakaway" when the moon is blasted out of Earth orbit. Regarded by many of the series' fans as the 49th and final episode, and providing a closure to the series, "Message" is included as an extra feature on The UFO and Space: 1999 Documentaries DVD, exclusively available from Fanderson.
[edit] Other performances
After Space: 1999, Merton performed in roles in many popular television series including Return of the Saint (1979); Grange Hill, Bergerac (1983), Angels (1983), Tenko (1984), Dempsey & Makepeace (1985), Lovejoy (1986), Crime Traveller (1997), Doctors (2001), Dinotopia (2002), Casualty (1986 to 2002), EastEnders (1998 to 2003), The Bill (1999 to 2005), Judge John Deed (2006), Coronation Street (2008) and Wire in the Blood (2008).
Merton rejoined fellow Space: 1999 co-star Ian McShane in the 1986 LoveJoy episode "The Axeman Cometh."
Just before Christmas 2008, Zienia Merton recorded a guest role in episode eight ("Samaritan") of ITV's new drama for 2009 - Law & Order: UK. Although the series premiered on 23 February 2009 some episodes were held over to appear as 'series two'. "Samaritan" received its premiere broadcast on ITV1 on Monday 11 January 2010 at 21:00.
In May 2009, Merton returned to the world of Doctor Who, 45 years after her appearance in Marco Polo. This time, she recorded a special episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures, starring Elisabeth Sladen. In episodes 3.5/3.6 "The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith", broadcast on BBC One on 29/30 October 2009, she worked alongside special guest star David Tennant.
[edit] References
- ^ Willey, Martin. "Breakaway: 1999 Convention Report". The Catacombs: International Guide. http://www.space1999.net/catacombs/main/w2con99.html. Retrieved 2009-19-17.
