British Telly

The cult BBC science-fiction series Blake's 7 is being restored to "maximum power" with a new Blu-ray set that featured digitally restored episodes and all-new visual effects.

Running for four seasons between 1978 and 1981, the programme – devised by Terry Nation, creator of Doctor Who's Daleks – followed a rag-tag band of rebels as they waged war on a corrupt galactic Federation.

War meant casualties, with a number of series regulars exiting the show across its run – and now, star Sally Knyvette has spoken out about her exit after two seasons as space smuggler and skilled pilot Jenna Stannis.

Speaking at a BFI event to mark the release of Blake’s 7 - The Collection: Series 1, Knyvette explained that the character was originally pitched to her as an "intergalactic space pirate" and that she ended up feeling "a bit short-changed" by her eventual on-screen portrayal.

"I think it's well-known that I felt my role became less and less of an intergalactic space pirate and more and more of a sort of dolly bird," she said.

"I was given extra hair to look like Raquel Welch and I was given tighter and tighter clothes, of which there were a lot of lingering shots in certain positions, and it was counter-productive to the sort of feisty, intergalactic space pirate [character]... I felt so constrained by how I had to look all the time."

Knyvette recalled that, in a later encounter with series creator Nation, he admitted to her that he "was much more comfortable writing for men" – with Jenna's lack of screen-time and absence from key action sequences eventually pushing the actress to attempt to exit the series.

"I tried to leave after series 1 and I wasn't allowed to because I was under contract.

"I was particularly unhappy at the end of series 1 – and as I think they knew I was going to leave, I think I got written less and less for in the second series."