Apr 28, 2025
RIP Rachel Herbert (5.1.1935 - 7.3.2025)
"[On speaking a fictional language in The Prisoner:] It gives you - not to have words, which people know the meaning of - it actually gives you an added power because you're putting all your meaning through something which they don't know [...] What they receive is the impetus of what you're doing, so what you're putting over is what you feel, what you mean, it doesn't matter about the word-meaning, that's not there anymore. It's quite fun. In a way."
#rachel herbert#character actors#rip#death ment tw#the prisoner#the power game#spindoe#danger man#callan#man in a suitcase#the champions#robbery#special branch#armchair theatre#softly softly: task force#shadows#the professionals#prince regent#crown court#the doctor and the devils#truly one of my faves‚ so it was very sad to see in passing that Rachel passed back in March; even sadder that she doesn't seem to have#merited really any media coverage at all‚ even in niche corners. The Prisoner sites have brief articles and i found one AI written mess but#that's it. despite appearing in multiple iconic series‚ often in significant and memorable roles‚ Rachel sadly never seems to have entered#the public consciousness. i think i truly became aware of her watching TPG‚ in a role which could have been thankless in lesser hands#(beleaguered wife of 'poor' Kenneth Bligh) but which she works wonders with‚ giving Justine the dignity and the spirit that Ken lacks. she#will probably be best remembered for her genuinely incredible Prisoner appearance (i cannot stress enough that her transformation in the#ep's final scenes is a chilling‚ gut punching acting masterclass) but i also want to rec her equally troubling (in a very different way)#support role in Spindoe (tw for some upsetting violence). and in Callan she is the complete opposite‚ a joyous guest spot as#as the sickly sweet‚ mildly poisonous and unabashedly flirtatious ex of Michael Jayston's potential security leak. she has only a minute or#two onscreen but she walks away with the entire episode in a beautifully studied bit of sultry character work
