The cult British fantasy show returned to ITV
in the autumn of 1965, with Patrick Macnee's
Steed now joined by fellow agent, Mrs. Emma
Peel, portrayed by Diana Rigg (who replaced
the original choice, Elizabeth Shepherd).
The chemistry between the two leads resulted
in the show's most popular and successful era
- The Avengers now aired in over a hundred
countries and was syndicated in America.
Like her predecessor, Honor Blackman's Cathy
Gale, Peel was unlike any female character
seen on British TV at the time. The role earned
Rigg sex-symbol status, and she became an
icon of Sixties feminism.
Born in Yorkshire in 1938, Rigg became a Dame
in 1994, and one of her most recent television appearances was as Mrs. Gillyflower in The
Crimson Horror, alongside her daughter,
Rachael Stirling.
Future Doctor Who script writers Malcolm Hulke, John Lucarotti and Robert Banks Stewart all provided screenplays here.
The fourth, twenty-six part season (which began another repeat run on the
Movies 4 Men channel today) featured Bernard Cribbins (as Arkwright in
The Girl From Auntie), and another ninety-three Doctor Who cast and crew
connections:
The Town of No Return (UK TX: September 28 1965)
- Patrick Newell (Smallwood here; Collins in Something Nasty in the Nursery; Mother in Series 6) and Peter Brace (Soldier) both appeared in The Android Invasion, as Colonel Faraday and Guard respectively, whilst Brace was also Guard in The Curse of Peladon
- Terence Alexander (Warren) was Lord Ravensworth in The Mark of the Rani
- Roger Lloyd-Pack (Man here; Professor in The Avengers, 1998) was John Lumic in Rise of the Cybermen and The Age of Steel
- Rocky Taylor (Fencing Double here; Martial Artist in The Cybernauts; Maker in The Danger Makers; Man in Hospital in The Fear Merchants; Mitchell in Escape in Time; Mercenary in Have Guns Will Haggle; Stunt Double in The New Avengers: The Eagle's Nest; Cybernaut in The Last of the Cybernauts; Soldier in Dirtier by the Dozen) was Egyptian Warrior in The Daleks' Master Plan: Golden Death; Guard in (episode 4 of) The Curse of Peladon; and a stuntman on The Idiot's Lantern
The Gravediggers (UK TX: October 7)
- Ronald Fraser (Winslip) was Joseph C in The Happiness Patrol
- Wanda Ventham (Nurse) was Jean Rook in The Faceless Ones, Thea Ransome in Image of the Fendahl, and Faroon in Time and the Rani - she auditioned for the role of Emma Peel in a screen test opposite Moray Watson as Steed
- Steven Berkoff (Sager) was the Shakri in The Power of Three
- Bryan Mosley (Miller) was Prop Man in The Daleks' Master Plan (7) and Malpha (in episode 11)
- Alan Chuntz (Pallbearer here, Henderson in The Hour That Never Was) appeared in fifteen classic era episodes (from The Seeds of Death to State of Decay)
- Billy Cornelius (Pallbearer here; Martial Artist in the next story; Glynn in Dial a Deadly Number; Tribeman in Small Game For Big Hunters) was Man-at-Arms in The Crusade (4), and Morok Guard in The Space Museum
- Aubrey Richards (Palmer) was Professor Parry in The Tomb of the Cybermen
- Michael Stevens (Pallbearer here; Guard in Castle De'ath; Stunt double in A Surfeit of H2O, Dial a Deadly Number, Room Without a View, The House That Jack Built; Cleaner in Super Secret Cypher Snatch) was Soldier in The Myth Makers (1), Daffodil Man in Terror of the Autons (3), UNIT Motorcyclist/Prisoner in The Mind of Evil, and Guard in The Curse of Peladon (1)
The Cybernauts (UK TX: October 14)
- Michael Gough (Armstrong) was the titular villain in The Celestial Toymaker (he was married to Anneke Wills at the time) and was Councillor Hedin in Arc of Infinity
- for Frederick Jaeger (Benson) see Series 2: Death of a Great Dane
- Bernard Horsfall (Jephcott) was Lemual Gulliver in The Mind Robber, Time Lord in The War Games, Taron in Planet of the Daleks, Chancellor Goth in The Deadly Assassin, and voiced Arnold Baynes for Big Finish's Davros (2003)
- for Burt Kwouk (Tusamo) and Ronald Leigh-Hunt (Lambert) see Series 1: Kill the King and Dragonsfield
- for John Hollis (Sensai) and Gordon Whiting (Hammond) see Series 2: Warlock and The Golden Eggs
- John Franklyn-Robbins (Gilbert) was a Time Lord in Genesis of the Daleks (1)
- Katherine Schofield (Oyuka) was Sabetha in The Keys of Marinus
- Dinny Powell, Mike Reid, and Derek Ware (Martial Artists) all had minor roles in the classic run - Powell was a stuntman on Terror of the Autons (1), and Guard in The Curse of Peladon (4) and Genesis of the Daleks (2); Reid was a Thal in Dr. Who and the Daleks, Soldier in The Myth Makers (3) and The War Machines, and Guard in The Massacre (4); whilst Ware worked on twenty-four instalments as stuntman, fight arranger or extra (from An Unearthly Child to The Claws of Axos (1))
Death at Bargain Prices (UK TX: October 21)
- for Andre Morell (Kane) and John Cater (Jarvis) see Series 3: Death of a Batman and The Nutshell
- TP McKenna (Wentworth) was Captain Cook in The Greatest Show in the Galaxy
- George Selway (Massey) was George and Frank Meadows in The Faceless Ones
- Peter Howell (Popple) was the Investigator in The Mutants (6)
Castle De'ath (UK TX: October 28)
- James Copeland (Roberton here; Gymnast in the next episode) was Selris in The Krotons
The Master Minds (UK TX: November 4)
- Bernard Archard (Leeming) was Bragen in The Power of the Daleks, and Marcus Scarman in Pyramids of Mars
- Nigel Lambert (Hardcastle) was Hardin in The Leisure Hive
- Martin Miller (Spencer) was Kublai Khan in Marco Polo
- Paddy Ryan (Heavy here; Chef in The Hour That Never Was) was Kaled Scientist in Genesis of the Daleks (6)
The Murder Market (UK TX: November 12)
- for John Woodvine (Stone) see Series 1: Square Root of Evil and Dead of Winter
- Edward Underdown (Jonathan) was Zastor in Meglos
A Surfeit of H2O (UK TX: November 19)
- Alan Gerrard (Villager here; Fintry in Quick-Quick Slow Death) was Bovem in The Dominators
- Talfryn Thomas (Barker) was Mullins in Spearhead from Space (1), and Dave in The Green Death
- Charles Rayford (Heckler here; Cook in The Hour That Never Was; Napoleon in Honey for the Prince; Bluebell for Who's Who?) was Kaled Scientist in Genesis of the Daleks
- John Timberlake [born Murphy] (Heckler here; Witness in The Curious Case of the Countless Clues) was Prisoner in The Dalek Invasion of Earth (6), Shelterer in The Enemy of the World, and Kaled Scientist in Genesis of the Daleks
- for Geoffrey Palmer see Series 1
The Hour That Never Was (UK TX: November 26)
- Royston Farrell (Officer here; Audience member in Two's A Crowd; Marshall in The Girl From Auntie) was Guardian in The Ark, Elder in The Savages (1), Technician in The Seeds of Death and The Claws of Axos (4), and Guard in The Curse of Peladon (1)
- Fred Haggerty (Driver) was a stuntman on The Time Meddler (2)
Dial A Deadly Number (UK TX: December 3)
- Tina Packer (Suzanne) was Anne Travers in The Web of Fear
- Ernest Blyth (Steward here; Guest in Wish You Were Here) was Villager in The Daemons
- for John Carson (Fitch), Peter Bowles (Harvey) and John Bailey (Warner) see my blog for Series 3
- for Michael Barrington (Todhunter) see Series 1: The Yellow Needle
Man-Eater of Surrey Green (UK TX: December 10)
- Edwin Finn (Taylor) was the Landlord in The Massacre
Two's A Crowd (UK TX: December 17)
- Julian Glover (Vogel) was King Richard in The Crusade, and Scaroth in City of Death
- for Wolfe Morris (Pudeshkin) see Series 1: The Yellow Needle
Too Many Christmas Trees (UK TX: December 23)
- for Robert James (Jenkins) and Edwin Richfield (Teasel) see Series 1: Hot Snow and Girl On The Trapeze
Silent Dust (UK TX: December 31)
- William Franklyn (Omrod) voiced Pharaoh Amenhotep for The Roof of the World (2004)
Room Without a View (UK TX: January 7 1966)
- for Paul Whitsun-Jones (Chessman) see Series 3: Man With Two Shadows
- Peter Jeffrey (Varnals here; Prendergast in The Joker; Bristow in Game; Perov in The New Avengers: House of Cards) was the Pilot in The Macra Terror, and Count Grendel in The Androids of Tara
- Philip Latham (Carter) was President Borusa in The Five Doctors
- Vernon Dobtcheff (Pushkin) was an Alien Scientist in The War Games, and voiced Dadda Desaka for The Cradle of the Snake (2010), and Shamur for The Children of Seth (2011)
Small Game For Big Hunters (UK TX: January 14)
- Bill Fraser (Rawlings) was Captain Grugger in Meglos, and Commander Bill Pollock in K9 and Company
- Peter Thomas (Kendrick) was Captain Edal in The Savages
The Girl From Auntie (UK TX: January 21)
- Sylvia Coleridge (Hetty) was Amelia Ducat in The Seeds of Doom
- Maurice Browning (Russian) was Carlton in The Daleks' Master Plan
- Jonathan Burn (Betty) was Silas P in The Happiness Patrol
The Thirteenth Hour (UK TX: January 28)
- Victor Maddern (Jackson) was Chief Robson in Fury from the Deep
- Donald Hewlett (Waversham here; Torrance in The New Avengers: Faces) was Hardiman in The Claws of Axos
Quick-Quick Slow Death (UK TX: February 4)
- John Woodnutt (Noble) was Hibbert in Spearhead from Space, the Draconian Emperor in Frontier in Space (5), Broton and the Duke of Forgill in Terror of the Zygons, and Seron in The Keeper of Traken
- Graham Armitage (Huggins) was Barney in The Macra Terror (1)
- Michael Peake (Fehr) was Tavius in The Romans
The Danger Makers (UK TX: February 11)
- Moray Watson (Peters) was Sir Robert Muir in Black Orchid
A Touch of Brimstone (UK TX: February 18)
- Peter Wyngarde (Cleverly Cartney) was Timanov in Planet of Fire
- Colin Jeavons (Darcy) was Damon in The Underwater Menace, and George Tracey in K9 and Company
- Robert Cawdron (Horace) was Taltalian in The Ambassadors of Death
- Jeremy Young (Castigan) was Kal in 100,000 BC, and Gordon Lowery in Mission to the Unknown
- Alf Joint (Big Man) was stunt arranger on Battlefield
- for Steve Plytas (Boris) see Series 2: Immortal Clay
What The Butler Saw (UK TX: February 25)
- David [Bernard] Swift (Barber here; Turner in The New Avengers: The Midas Touch) was cast as Count Federico in The Masque of Mandragora but was replaced by Jon Laurimore
The House That Jack Built (UK TX: March 4)
- Griffith Davies (Burton) was Kennedy in The Evil of the Daleks
- for Keith Pyott (Pennington) see Series 2: The White Dwarf
- Alan Lake (Officer) was Herrick in Underworld
A Sense of History (UK TX: March 11)
- Jacqueline Pearce (Marianne) was Chessene in The Two Doctors, then voiced Sherilyn Harper for The Fearmonger (2000), Admiral Mettna for Death Comes to Time, Queen Zafira for Hexagora (2011), and Cardinal Ollistra for The War Doctor (2015-17), Doom Coalition 4, Day of the Vashta Nerada and The Time War 1 (all 2017)
- for Nigel Stock (Carlyon) and John Ringham (Acheson) see Series 3; Concerto and The Secrets Broker
- Robin Phillips (Pettit) was Altos in The Keys of Marinus
- Kenneth Benda (Broom) was The Minister in The Claws of Axos
How To Succeed.. At Murder (UK TX: March 18)
- Christopher Benjamin (Hooter) first appeared in the classic run as Sir Keith Gold in Inferno, then the revived series as Colonel Hugh Curbishley in The Unicorn and the Wasp, but is best known as Henry Gordon Jago from The Talons of Weng Chiang - he reprised the role for The Mahogany Murders (2009) then Big Finish's Jago and Litefoot series (2010-present), Voyage to Venus and Voyage to the New World (both 2012), The Justice of Jalxar (2013) and Jago & Litefoot & Strax (2015) - he also voiced Tardelli for Grand Theft Cosmos (2008)
- for David Garth (Barton) and Jerome Willis (Rudge) see Series 2: The Big Thinker and Intercrime
Honey For The Prince (UK TX: March 25)
- Ron Moody (Ponsonby-Hopkirk) voiced the Duke of Wellington for Other Lives (2005)
- George Pastell (Arkadi) was Eric Klieg in The Tomb of the Cybermen
- Jon Laurimore (Westcott) replaced David Swift as Count Federico in The Masque of Mandragora
- Reg Pritchard (Postman) was Ben Daheer in The Crusade, and Man in The Daleks' Master Plan (7)
- Peter Diamond (Bernie) was a regular stunt double and fight arranger (from The Daleks (7) to The Daemons)
Produced by Two Brothers
