Dayna Mellanby

Dayna Mellanby is a major character in Blake's 7. She is played by Josette Simon.
==Canon==
*Weapons expert, especially bombs
*Brought up in isolation in an underwater base on a planet peopled by savages
*Long-running personal feud with Servalan, who killed her father
*Kisses Avon ('Aftermath'), nearly has sex with Tarrant ('Ultraworld') & has a Lolita-esque past with Justin ('Animals')
*Shot on Gauda Prime
*An early character of colour on British television
==Dayna as a Black Character==
==Fannish Opinion==
===1992===
===1995===
===1996===
===1997===
===2012===
==Fandom==
Dayna is one of the less popular main crew characters in fanworks.In the Hermit Library, fewer works are tagged for her than Tarrant, who is introduced at the same time, and Cally & Jenna, two of the other female characters. She gets about the same number of works as Olag Gan and rather more than Soolin, who appeared in only a single season. As of September 2015, the stats on AO3 are broadly similar. Judith Proctor stated in 2001 There aren't many good Dayna stories around.Hermit.org: Recomended Fanzines for Dayna (accessed 25 September 2015) It's unclear whether this reflects inherent bias against characters of colour, or can simply be ascribed to being a female character who joined the crew halfway through the series and didn't receive a great deal of focus in canon. Neil Faulkner has hypothesised that her relatively detailed canonical backstory left few gaps for fanwriters to fill, and few stories explore her history before the Liberator.Neil Faulkner 'Good Women Wasted' AltaZine 6: 13–15 He also suggested that Josette Simon's lack of interest in appearing at conventions might be another factor.Hermit.org: Let's Hear It for Dayna (accessed 25 September 2015) Much ensemble fanfiction treats her as a plot device, with her canonical habit of concealing bombs in her clothing coming in handy in many a tight spot. 
Her most popular het pairings are Tarrant/Dayna, building on the Aliens (Nearly) Made Them Do It in 'Ultraworld' & Avon/Dayna, building on their canonical kiss; both are relatively rare pairings. Vila/Dayna has also been written and there's even a little Blake/Dayna, usually set post-Gauda Prime. She is moderately popular in femslash; Dayna/Soolin was the predominant pairing up until 2001Nova. '(Re)Making Space for Women' Sleer as Folk 308–322 & a little Cally/Dayna has also been written. A sexually curious virginal Dayna is a common trope in pairing-focused stories, and she's often written as adventurous in bed.
Lynn Cherny observes the fanon that Dayna is Avon's most staunch supporter and loyal follower: Especially in PGP stories. This has some basis in the show, although she does one or twice argue with him or question his motives.Recurring Themes in Blake's 7 Fan Fiction: PART VII. Getting to Know You: (accessed 25 September 2015)
Dayna is even rarer as a subject for fanart. Chevron states that she is swift, graceful and deadly as a jungle cat and notes that she's been portrayed with a snow leopard.Chevron 'Archetypes in Blake's 7' Lysator 18 November 1992 (downloaded from Lysator) Most art is gen, especially ensembles with other crew members; one exception is a nude Dayna riding a horse in Tales from Space City 2.
Meta about Dayna is likewise sparse. Popular topics include parallels with Shakespeare's The Tempest in her upbringing,For example, Blake Revisited: Part 2: The Characters by Frances Teagle (accessed 26 September 2015) & B7 influences by Hafren (accessed 26 September 2015) discussion of how her character evolved over the series, and comparisons with other female characters. There is little discussion of her race, even though few other non-white characters appear in the series.
==Example Fanworks==
*The World Turned Upside Down by Sandy Hall. AU post-'Terminal' focusing on the relationship between Dayna & Avon; the only Dayna-centric novel known to Judith (1987)
*Pilot Program by Willa Shakespeare. Amnesia post-Gauda Prime; Tarrant/Dayna (1994)
*Hearts of Glass by Rhapsodie. A rare example of Vila/Dayna (1995)
*'The Price of a Friend' by Vicki Childs in Gambit 14 (1996)
*Vi Et Armis by Alicia Ann Fox. Avon/Dayna (1997)
*May King by Susan Cutter. Various Dayna pairings, both het & femslash, including Dayna/Lauren (1998)
*Songs of Innocence and Experience by Nova. Dayna/Soolin (2002)
*Wish Upon a Shooting Star by Nicola Mody. Ansty backstory ficlet (2005)
*The Definition of Animals by Nicola Mody. Unusual AU of 'Animals' (2006)
*The Future Is What You Make It by Roseveare. Dayna/Soolin where they are the only survivors PGP. Written for the My Old Fandom exchange (2016)
* Dayna Sings Soprano by entropy_house. A story in thirty drabbles, an unusual take where Dayna is the only PGP survivor.
===Meta===
*Let's Hear It for Dayna by Neil Faulkner (1996)
*Animals - Not a Turkey by Una McCormack – a defence of the unpopular Dayna-centric episode, 'Animals' (~2000)
===Fan Art===
File:Fifthseason3-6.jpg|from Fifth Season #3, artist is Pat Cash (1984)
File:Fifthseason3-9.jpg|from Fifth Season #3, artist is Pat Cash (1984)
 File:B7 Gambit8.jpg|thumb|Dayna, Avon & Soolin on Gambit cover; by Lucia Casarella Moore
File:Enarrareb7spec-8.jpg| artist is Anne Hamilton, from Enarraré (1989) 
File:Enarrareb7spec-9.jpg| artist is Kathryn Andersen, from Enarraré (1989) 
File:Enarrareart5unkown.jpg| artist is Sonja Van den Ende, from Enarraré (1989)
File:Fifthseason6.jpg| Dayna with a snow leopard; by Robin Wood, from Fifth Season #6 (1990) 
File:Fifthseason6-3.jpg| artist is Karen River, from Fifth Season #6 (1990) 
File:Fifthseason6-5.jpg |artist is Karen River, from Fifth Season #6 (1990) 
 File:Worldturnedupsidedown2.jpg Dayna & Avon on The World Turned Upside Down cover; by Karen River
File:Image-chron1718-1.jpg| from Chronicles #17/18
File:Orbitblakes9.jpg|Cover of Orbit #9
File:Mayking.jpg|Dayna & Tarrant on 'May King' cover; by 'Whitby27'
File:BLAKE'S 7 Horizon -17.jpg|Dayna & Tarrant on Horizon cover; by Tim Pieraccini
File:Blake7 art33 1991.jpg|Dayna, Vila & Tarrant on Avon's 8 cover; by Evelyn Turner
File:Sevenliveon6-2.jpg|Inside page of The Seven Live On #6
File:Serrated3.jpg|Inside page from Serrated Seven
File:Southernseven1-1.jpg|from Southern Seven #1, artist is Sheila Willis (1986)
File:The World Turned Upside Down-10.jpg|artist is Jean Clissold, from The World Turned Upside Down (1987)
File:The World Turned Upside Down-11.jpg|artist is Jean Clissold, from The World Turned Upside Down (1987)
File:The World Turned Upside Down-2.jpg|artist is Nancy Kolar, from The World Turned Upside Down (1987)
 by Jurgen van de Sanden. Pencil portrait (unknown date)
*Dayna by Leyna-art. Pen & ink portrait (unknown date)
*Day Twenty-seven by vandonovan. Pencil portrait (2008)
*Dayna - Blake's 7 by Marker-Mistress. Full-length action shot; marker pens (2011)
===Fanvids===
==Archives==
*Dayna's page at Remember Us – Te's archive for characters of colour 
==References==
Category:Blake's 7 Characters