In the late 1970s a dominant female figure rose to power and had British men’s balls retracting in fear over her assertive presence and steely gaze. No folks, we’re not referring to Maggie Thatcher. Instead we’re celebrating the might of Servalan from Blake’s 7, who ruled over the universe as Supreme Commander of the Terran Federation across four series of the BBC’s lively sci-fi drama.

Played by the scarily alluring Jacqueline Pearce, Servalan spearhead the hunt to fight and eliminate a group of rebels led by the eponymous Blake and his crew. Not only is it rare, to date, to have a female entering the esteemed echelons of the Cult Spy Icon list, but at the time female central villains were almost non-existent. Servalan’s close-cropped hair, cold tones and ruthless manipulation was a significant step away from the ‘dolly birds’ who populated the mainstream televisual landscape in the 1970s.

Like Thatcher, she would let nothing stop her from advancing and would swiped aside whatever stood in her way. She even staged a military coup (a bit more successful than Ahmed’s one on Big Brother) that saw her become President of the Federation. Just as the dreaded Poll Tax set Maggie on the road to ruin, Servalan was soon ousted herself as her unsuccessful efforts to destroy the rebel crew of the Liberator took her eye off the ball and become overthrown.

A certain sensuality pervaded Pearce’s performance, with her striking outfits sending a few pubescent hearts a flutter, despite not being a conventional sex symbol by any means. Servalan was prone to a bit of the old hanky panky herself, canoodling with Blake’s ambiguously devious associate Avon. Despite a few passionate smooching sessions, Servalan still wants to slaughter the rebel and his crew. Now that’s Girl Power for you…