Alexandra Bastedo

Alexandra Lendon Bastedo (9 March 1946 – 12 January 2014) was a British actress, best known for her role as the 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. 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 Sharif'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. They talked of marriage, but she was prohibited from marrying by a contract for The Champions (1968 to 1969). He said that she was the "most stunningly beautiful creature" he had ever seen.

In 1980, at Chichester Cathedral, Bastedo married Patrick Garland, 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 television series Where Are They Now?, Bastedo provided a glimpse into her private life. She had been the president of her local RSPCA branch but gave up her position in 2008, to dedicate more time to her animal sanctuary at her home in West Chiltington, West Sussex. A journalist who interviewed her husband in 2010 described their domestic surroundings:

She was also a patron to a number of animal welfare organisations including Compassion in World Farming, Wildlife Aid Foundation, National Animal Welfare Trust, Greyhounds in Need and Naturewatch. She was buried next to her husband, Patrick Garland, in St Mary's churchyard, Sullington, West Sussex. The service was conducted by her friend and Rector, Revd Derek Spencer, who had also conducted the funeral of her husband only the previous year.