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Goodbye, Mrs Peel — A (Very Personal) Reminiscence About Diana Rigg
Who was the first media character you wanted to be? (Not hang out with, or be in the place of).
For me, it was the kickass, catsuit wearing figure of Mrs Emma Peel. Although The Avengers ran before I was born, my dad was and is a fan of “Spy fi” on TV, and introduced me to the show as soon as he thought I was old enough to appreciate it.
I don’t honestly remember how old that was.
But I do remember Emma Peel and what she came to mean to me. Some people might laugh: I thought the woman who wore a catsuit and who’s name was a pun on “Man Appeal” was some kind of role model?
Who Was Emma Peel?
The Avengers was a British spy fi show that was created in 1961, and ran for 8 seasons. Initially, it starred Ian Hendry as Dr. David Keel and Patrick Macnee as his sidekick, John Steed.
Then Hendry quit. Macnee was promoted to lead and, after several false starts got his second partner, Cathy Gale, played by Honor Blackman. She was a judo-loving anthropologist, and she was like no other female character before…simply because Steed was the face, the social skill character. Gale was the fighter. And in her first episodes, some of her lines were written for a male character.