Mrs. Peacock

Owner of Arlington Grange, Mrs. Peacock is a sophisticated woman who likes to entertain. She regularly holds fete's, jumble sales, fun runs and other functions at her home. Her relationship with Colonel Mustard has been off and on over the years; and in between she has found romance with a large variety of men.

Below is a comparison of the different Mrs. Peacocks and a rating of their hamminess, psychoticness, characterisation and looks (as compared with the boardgame cards). There is also a brief description of the actresses' careers.

UK Series 1 - Stephanie Beacham

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Starting the series in style, the first Mrs. Elizabeth Peacock was a very famous name - that of Stephanie Beacham.

With a healthy career behind her, Stephanie is most familiar as Sable Colby from "Dynasty" and "The Colbys"; and for the superb Second World War drama "Tenko". Other shows Stephanie has appeared in include "Seaquest DSV" and "Beverly Hills 90210".

This Mrs. Peacock was a believable character of high society, who was looking for a man of position - whether it be a French Count or Colonel Mustard in an MP's role. Stephanie's acting history shone through as her character developed relationships with the other suspects; something that she was rewarded with, by giving her the privilege of being the only person to commit two murders in a series and thus have two confessions.

Browse Stephanie Beacham products at: Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Ratings:
Look: *** (3/5)
Character: ***** (5/5)
Ham: *** (3/5)
Psycho: **** (4/5)
IMDB Entry For
Stephanie Beacham
 
UK Christmas Special - Kate O'Mara

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Another "Dynasty" actress in the role of Peacock showed that the producers definitely wanted her to be seen as the same type of shoulder-padded high-society woman that that show was infamous for.

Kate O'Mara is one of those people that everyone knows, but who's list of credits are inexplicably short. In fact, if you look at her entry on IMDB, she is only registered as appearing in two acting roles since Cluedo! Kate is fondly remembered though for her regular appearances on "Dr. Who" as The Rani and her wonderful cameo in the "Absolutely Fabulous" episode "Happy New Year".

Kate's Peacock is a very unusual character. We discover in this episode that she was a circus knife thrower in her youth, with the stage-name (or possibly even real name) of Velma! O'Mara gets to shoot the usual catty glances that Beacham started so well and even has fun throwing a dagger at a painting!

Browse Kate O'Mara products at: Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Ratings:
Look: *** (3/5)
Character: *** (3/5)
Ham: *** (3/5)
Psycho: **** (4/5)
IMDB Entry For
Kate O'Mara
 
UK Series 2 - Rula Lenska

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A fantastical portrayal here as Rula Lenska player a sinister character who seemed to hide a lot from the detectives whilst making wonderful come-backs to their questions.

Her most notable achievement must be though, keeping a straight face as Matthew Kelly postulated if she had killed the victim with her long ear-rings!

Strangely again, Rula's IMDB listing is also surprisingly short. I'm starting to wonder if IMDB is lacking quality information during the period that these actresses were at their peak! Rula is noted as having also appeared in "Dr. Who", several appearances in "Minder", narrating "Spice Girls: Girl Talk" - but the best role I remember her is as the evil time traveller Zeta in "Kappatoo".

Browse Rula Lenska products at: Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Ratings:
Look: **** (4/5)
Character: ***** (5/5)
Ham: **** (4/5)
Psycho: **** (4/5)
IMDB Entry For
Rula Lenska
 
UK Series 3 - Susan George

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A contrast here as Susan George followed very big names, when though she has a recognisable face, certainly is not as well known as the other Peacocks.

Susan has to win on the looks vote, mainly on account of her hair being the closest colour and the shape of her face - though she looks like a young Peacock as compared to the card. Her accent is also a lot more suited to the part, sounding more upper-class than most of her predecessors (though Jo Lumley closely matches her later).

Susan's character reflected her accent - she was very sophisticated, with a love of horse-riding and was very patriotic. Rather than being a Hollywood Star in a quiet English village, you could believe her as being the owner of Arlington Grange.

As previously mentioned, Susan has appeared in less well known programmes; though unlike a lot of the others, she has appeared in a long list of shows. Some of these include "Tales of the Unexpected", "Twinky", "Die Screaming, Marianne" and "Stay Lucky".

Browse Susan George products at: Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Ratings:
Look: ***** (5/5)
Character: **** (4/5)
Ham: *** (3/5)
Psycho: *** (3/5)
IMDB Entry For
Susan George
 
UK Series 4 - Joanna Lumley

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Prepare to be afraid - VERY afraid!

The amazing Joanna Lumley picks up the mantle of Mrs. P. from Susan George and re-writes the character. As was the tendency with the fourth series, this Peacock was a complete psychopath. With shocking black hair and vivid eye-shadow, Lumley's death stares and plotting makes Hannibal Lecter seem friendly! If you are ever invited to stay at Joanna's Arlington Grange - say NO!

Joanna Lumley is now infamous on our screens, but her best characters have been the "Absolutely Fabulous" Patsy, Perdy in "The New Avengers", Sapphire in "Sapphire and Steel", Kate Swift in "Class Act", Mrs. Smiling in "Cold Comfort Farm" and many, many more. She also took part in the "fly on the wall" documentaries "Girl Friday" and "Joanna Lumley in the Kingdom of the Thunderdragon".

Browse Joanna Lumley products at: Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Ratings:
Look: * (1/5)
Character: *** (3/5)
Ham: ***** (5/5)
Psycho: ***** (5/5)
IMDB Entry For
Joanna Lumley
 

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