New Avengers, The

1 9 7 6 – 1 9 7 8 (UK/France/Canada)
26 x 60 minute episodes

In The New Avengers, John Steed (Patrick Macnee) was called upon once more to thwart extravagant plots by the world’s most eccentric saboteurs and assassins.

He was working undercover for the British Secret Service (just as he had in The Avengers) but Steed was now spending more time on his private stud-farm where he indulged his hobbies of breeding horses and entertaining beautiful women.

Ageing a little, but as suave and sophisticated as ever, Steed was typically supported by a glamorous female, but also this time, by a tough young male – someone to do all the running around. The newcomers were Purdey and Gambit.

Purdey (Joanna Lumley), a former ballerina with an international education and a (much-copied) pageboy haircut, was classy, elegant, sexy (Lumley described her character as “a real male chauvinist pig’s dream”) and as hard as nails. Like her predecessors Gale, Peel and King, she also knew how to fight.

She was well-versed in the martial arts, but her strength was in her kick, and many an assailant felt the power of her long, shapely legs. She was also a good shot, and extremely fit (I’ll say).

Mike Gambit (Gareth Hunt) provided the muscle which Steed now lacked. A former paratrooper who had spent time in the SAS and as a mercenary in Africa and the Middle East, he was a weapons specialist and a lethal practitioner of Kung Fu.

Both young colleagues showed Steed the respect he deserved and relied on his wealth of knowledge and experience.

Produced in association with a French TV company and also with some Canadian input, three episodes were filmed in France and four in Canada, with the majority made in the UK.

John Steed
Patrick Macnee
Purdey
Joanna Lumley
Mike Gambit
Gareth Hunt
Von Claus
Peter Cushing