Pagett died suddenly of a brain tumour on 3 March aged 75, her daughter Eve Swannell confirmed. Whilst her 30 year career included both films and theatre productions, she is probably best known for her television roles, first as Elizabeth Bellamy the spoilt and rebellious daughter of the upscale Belgravia household in Eaton Square in Upstairs, Downstairs, and then for playing the title character in the BBC's 10-part reproduction of Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina in 1977.