Diana Rigg
Daily Mail, 15 December 1964, page 3, Tougher Than Cathy, This New Avenger, The introduction of Diana Rigg as the new partner for Patrick Macnee, England.
CATHY GALE could throw a man with a flick of the wrist. But even she wouldn't stand a chance against the girl who is taking her place in ITV's The Avengers. Diana Rigg, 26-year old Shakespearean actress, starts work today as successor to Cathy, the judo girl made famous by Honor Blackman. Brian Clemens, associate producer of the new series, sums her up like this: "Tougher than Cathy. She moves like a boxer." Her co-star, Patrick Macnee, said: "I'm glad she's on my side." Programme chiefs considered doing away with the Cathy Gale Amazon image, but thought better of it.
So as well as brushing up her lines, Yorkshire-born Miss Rigg, alias Emma Peel, has been taking judo lessons. But, despite the judo, Emma Peel will not be a carbon-copy Cathy. There will be more comedy in the programme and more way-out fashion ideas. The show will be aimed at the American market but without any concessions to American styles. Miss Rigg, 5ft. 8 1/2in. tall and auburn haired, said: "After five years with the Royal Shakespeare Company I want a change. I shall be playing the part in my own way. I am not remotely like Honor Blackman as an actress or a personality."The Sun, 15 December 1964, page 3, The picture which made Diana Rigg the new girl in the Avengers, Revealing Diana Rigg as the new Avengers girl, England.
Daily Mail, 5 April 1965, page 3, The New Avenger, Pre-publicity of Season Four; picture from 'The Gravediggers', England.
OR HOW THE BEAUTIFUL MISS DIANA RIGG WAS TIED TO A RAILWAY LINE BY VILLAINS OF THE FOULEST KIND, AND OUR HANDSOME HERO STEED GALLOPED TO THE RESCUE IN THE NICK OF TIME.
NAME: Emma Peel. Description: Red hair, tall. Characteristics: Judo expert, fondness for leather clothes and company of John Steed. Meet the new Avenger.
(Pause for kinky music.)
SCENE: ABC-TV story conference. Mr. Big: Well, what about The Avengers? They're back in the autumn with that new girl Emma Peel - gee, what a GREAT name - in place of Cathy. Minion: Sir, what about getting Emma trapped in a submarine under the North Pole dressed as a penguin? New clothes cult. Better than boots.
Mr. Big: Right, we'll stick to boots. Get a really good story line for the first show. What about Emma tied to a railway track - a MINIATURE railway track - with the engine - a MINIATURE engine - thundering down to decapitate her. Like those old-time movies. Get the writers on to it.
(Pause for kinky music).
SCENE: Story conference some time later. Mr. Big: Okay then, it's agreed. No sexy dog-collars this time. Just a man - let's give him a title - who likes miniature railways, only his is being used by secret agents sabotating British early-warning system. Sounds GREAT. Tell you what, let's get Steed to have a fight on one of the carriage roofs. GREAT.
(Pause for kinky music).
SCENE: Lord Gretton's estate at Stapleford, near Melton Mowbray, yesterday. It has a miniature railway. Steed (in other words Patrick Macnee) duly fights on carriage roof. Emma (new girl Diana Rigg) is duly tied to the track. The first Avengers of the new series is in the can. Melodrama. Corn. Sex. Boots and all. But never a mention of Pauline. Or Mack Sennett.
(Fade to kinky music).Daily Mirror, 5 April 1965, page 13, Trouble for Steed's new girl, Introduction of Emma Peel, England.
You can almost hear that drumming music they used to pound out during silent films as the villain tied the helpless heroine to the railway track. But stop! There the similarity ends. This heroine is not helpless. Her name: Emma Peel. Age: 26. Specialities: Karate killer blows, judo throws, and a deadly aim with a small snub-nosed automatic. Now enter the hero. His name, Steed. And he needs no introduction to aficionados of the The Avengers ITV series. Emma Peel (real name Diana Rigg) is replacing Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman) - wooed away by 007 James Bond. How do Steed (Patrick Macnee) and Emma beat the villains? Come autumn, we'll all know.Daily Mirror, 15 July 1965, page 3, The new Cathy sends them flying, More introduction for Emma Peel, England.
Daily Mirror, 25 August 1965, page unknown, Dynamite - The 'Avenger' Look, author unknown, England. Introducing Emma Peel.
Observer Magazine, 12 September 1965, page ?, Switch over from Honor to Diana, England
Honor Blackman graduated from 'The Avengers' to playing James Bond's girlfriend in 'Goldfinger', Laurence Harvey's in 'Life At The Top'. But it's doubtful if she'll ever shed her black-leather image as Cathy Gale in the male British mind - what did Cathy ever shed for the ever-hopeful Steed? As in teenage fashion, a major ingredient in the show's classless appeal was sex - sometimes indeterminate, never consummated, but always strong. Another Cathie, another kind of overnight, arbitrary smartness invented to blanket the country before it could acquire class connotations. ABC's 'The Avengers' returns this autumn with Diana Rigg, ex-Stratford and Aldwych, in Honor Blackman's role of playfellow to Patrick Macnee, but still aimed at a slightly maturer market of account-executive fantasy. There's no evidence that either Emma Peel's leather judo suits or Steed's curly bowlers have created a run on tanneries or hatters, but the element of way-out fashion is important in the series' non-class image. This year, as in previous years, the clothes to be worn by the two protagonists are a closely guarded secret.Manchester Evening News, 24 September 1965, page 3, 'Pictured with his new leading lady, is Patrick Macnee of The Avengers', ?, England.
Sunday Times Magazine, 26 September 1965, pages 36 and 37, Design for Avenging: Sisters Under The Skin: for Cathy read Emma for leather read snake, Meriel McCooey, England. Details of The 65 Avengers Fashions, with pictures of Diana Rigg modelling them.
Daily Mirror, 27 September 1965, page 14 and 15, Enter Emma, John Bates' Avengers fashions, Felicity Green, England
Daily Mirror, 29 September 1965, page 16, She'll Grow On You, Review of 'The Town Of No Return', Kenneth Eastaugh, England.
Daily Mail, 29 September 1965, page 3, TV Column, Review of 'The Town Of No Return', Peter Black, England
The sent-up secret agent theme now has many exhibitors, but ABC's new The Avengers (London and Scotland) retains its uniquely attractive dottiness. I warmed at once to Emma Peel, Steed's new tomboy assistant, wearing a fighting suit of black stretch material. With its overtones of aristocratic devilment Emma Peel is an inspired name and the touch of fun in Diana Rigg's engaging performance is going to enslave millions.Look Westward, 10 October 1965, pages unknown, title unknown, author unknown, England. Preview of the new series of The Avengers, featuring Diana Rigg and her John Bates-designed fashion.
TV Times, 16 December 1965, page ?, Have A Happy Christmas With TV Times, no author, England. Diana Rigg in festive garb.
TV World, 25 December 1965, pages 1,44,45,46, Top Star Talking: Diana Rigg interview, author unknown, England.
TV Weekly, 13 January 1966, page 4, Her New Wardrobe, author unknown, England.
In 15 weeks The Avengers' Diana Rigg has had only 3 chances to wear her new wardrobe, designed by John Bates at Jean Varon - but from now until the end of the series, in March, Diana will be seen in her new clothes.Manchester Evening News, 24 January 1966, page 1, "The Avengers" Emma Will Floor 'Em At Stratford, ?, England.
Daily Mail, 25 January 1966, page 6, Treble or Quits, Douglas Marlborough, England
Daily Mirror, 25 January 1966, page 3, It's Shakespeare For Emma Peel, Diana Rigg appearing in Stratford, Clifford Davis, England.
Actress Diana Rigg who plays judo expert Emma Peel in "The Avengers" on ITV, is going back to Shakespeare. And last night she said that she would not be going back to "The Avengers" unless she gets a big pay rise. Her £150-a week contract expires next month when she finishes filming the present series. She returns to the Royal Shakespeare Company at Stratford-on-Avon in April to play Viola in "12th Night". Her salary will be £370 a week. But the future of "The Avengers" may depend on a try-out on American television this Spring. A spokesman for ABC television, which makes it, said last night: "It is unlikely that we would produce another series unless the Americans decide to buy.TV Times issue 535, 27 January 1966, pages 6 and 10, With Emma In Mind, The fashions of Emma Peel; John Bates interview, Lynn Thomas, England.
TV World, 16 February 1966, pages 17 and 18, Diana Rigg tastes... A Touch Of Brimstone, no author, England.
Manchester Evening News, 19 February 1966, page 3, Photo-caption
A Queen of Sin. This is one of the roles of Emma Peel (Diana Rigg) in an orgy scene during "A Touch Of Brimstone" tonight's episode on ITV. The snake is a real one.Daily Mail, 22 February 1966, page 4, People, Gossip Column: Diana Rigg & Stuntmen, England
..Actress Diana Rigg who had to have a stuntMAN do her fighting in earlier "Avengers" episodes now knows her business so well she does all the tough stuff herself...TV Times issue 539, 24 February 1966, pages 2 and 3, Fit And Fizzy, Diana Rigg interview, Dave Lanning, England.
The Stage and Television Today, 3 March 1966, untitled, page unknown, author unknown, England.
...a story in ABC's filmed series THE AVENGERS was the cause of an ITA ruling that the programme had to be cut by one minute or shown after 9 P.M. The scene objected to showed Diana Rigg as Emma Peel apparently being whipped. Rediffusion chose in this instance to leave programmed schedules unchanged and cut the allegedly objectionable scene from "A Touch Of Brimstone" shown in London on February 18.TV Weekly, 3 March 1966, page 4, Success Girl, no author, England.
Does anybody know what TV Weekly was?Daily Mail, 7 March 1966, page 4, Non-Political People, Popularity of Diana Rigg, England
...Asked to name who they'd like invited to lecture them on poise, South London youth club girls chose Diana Rigg of The Avengers, Lady Dorothy Macmillan or Norman Hartnell in that order...
TV World, 16 March, page 1 & ?, title unknown, author unknown, England.
Weekend, 16 March 1966, pages 1,16,17, Hell For The Leather Girl, Michael Kirsch, England.
TV Showtime, 18 March 1966, page unknown, Poster of Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg, no author, USA.
TV Week, 19 March 1966, page unknown, title unknown, author unknown, Australia. Small Diana Rigg Avengers piece.
TV Week, 7 May 1966, page 3, no title, no author, Australia.
Who's the lady behind the veil? Why, it's Diana Rigg, who plays Emma Peel in The Avengers. Diana is pictured doing the Dance of the Seven Veils for a visiting Middle Eastern potentate in a future episode, Honey For The Prince. Diana, who took over the lead in the series from Honor (Kathy Gale) Blackman, is called on to fight with guns, judo, wrestling and boxing as her weapons - but she still manages to look beautiful. Diana doesn't always come off best in her fights - in future episodes she will be thrown down flights of stairs and hurled through plate-glass windows.Daily Mail, 11 May 1966, page 8, "To be sexy in private is quite enough for the Englishwoman" - Diana Rigg talking yesterday., Diana Rigg interview, Barry Norman, England.
Daily Mail, 18 July 1966, page 4, Miss Rigg looking like vengeance, Diana Rigg attends a Vietnam protest, England.
Daily Mail, 30 July 1966, page 4, Cardin Takes Off For Space, Pierre Cardin fashion show, Joy Tagney, England
Well I went to Cardin, along with Diana Rigg and Patrick Macnee (who went to see what kind of clothes they're going to get when Cardin designs for The Avengers) and a lot of other people"... Part of a larger piece, England.Daily Mirror, 30 July 1966, page 5, Now Mr. Cardin Launches Men Into The Space Age, Avengers at Pierre Cardin fashion show, Felicity Green, England
...sitting near me at the show and taking all this space stuff like a man was "Avenger" Patrick Macnee. He plans for Steed to wear this look in the next TV series.Daily Mail, 2 August 1966, page 4, How Miss Rigg Keeps That Familiar Look, Pierre Cardin fashions, Charles Greville, England.
Ray Austin interview
TV Showtime, 20 January 1967, page 2, Poster of Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg, no author, USA.
TV Guide issue 721, 21 January 1967, pages 1,19,20,21,22, En Garde!, Robert Musel, USA. Diana Rigg interview.
Daily Mail, 7 March 1967, page 1, First of the million see the great homes show..., Daily Mail Ideal Homes Show with Avengers features, Vincent Mulchrone, England
...The Electricity Council shows you Diana Rigg's all-electric kitchen, which is a wow at £3600. Miss Rigg, star of The Avengers pottered around there decoratively yesterday. Plus photo: 'Avengers' girl Diana Rigg in her kitchen.Daily Mail, 10 March 1967, page 12, For Eating, Cooking and Talking... Diana's Kitchen is in the all star Style, Diana Rigg's kitchen at the Daily Mail Ideal Homes Exhibition, England.
Tele Radio, ?March, 2 pages unknown, Modelo y Estrella, author unknown, Spain. Diana Rigg piece.
TV Week, April 6 1967, Diana Brushes Up Her Shakespeare - But she's a judo girl at heart, pages unknown (2), author unknown, Australia.
TV Times issue 598, 13 April 1967, page 6, From The North This Week, Introductory paragraph for the second run of Rigg colour episodes, England.
The Avengers. Back on Saturday is The Avengers, now seven years old, and one of the most consistently successful, internationally-sold, British television series. It was nominated for an Emmy award in the United States earlier this year and has millions of fans in Australia, Canada, Spain, Germany and many other countries. What is the secret of The Avengers success? Elegant Patrick Macnee, who plays John Steed, insisted: "It's all due to the girls. Two completely independently-minded, absolutely wonderful females have been the success of The Avengers - or at least a great part of it." Patrick's leading lady Diana Rigg, who, as Emma Peel, took over in The Avengers after actress Honor Blackman left, put it this way: "Patrick has been marvellous. The series has been successful, I think, because we have broken away from the stereotype. We have inverted the usual ideas and added humour to the inversion. (Plus a photocaption: Feminine... but tough: that's Diana Rigg's formula for success as Emma Peel in The Avengers).Daily Mail, 14 April 1967, page 1, Diana Rigg To Quit The Avengers, Diana Rigg To Quit The Avengers, Daily Mail Reporter, England.
Daily Mirror, 14 April 1967, page 10, Emma Peel Is To Quit TV's 'The Avengers', Diana Rigg leaving The Avengers, England.
TV Guide issue 741, 10 June 1967, pages 28,29,30,31, Diana Rigg and The Emmapeeler, author unknown, USA. Photo-spread of Avengers fashions.
Daily Mirror, 15 July 1967, page 12,13, Emma Gives The Suit Cat Appeal, no author, England.
EMMA PEELER is the title they give the "cat suit" worn by Diana Rigg - and there are no prizes for guessing why. This is the genuine article as worn by Diana in her up-and-at-'em rôle of Emma Peel in ABC-TV's The Avengers, which returns to British and American screens in the autumn. The suit, made of stretch crimplene, is available in shops throughout the country, and designer Alun Hughes says that it is ideal for work or leisure. Diana is just back from a trip to Germany with co-star Patrick Macnee, where The Avengers are not only a red-hot property, but one of the first programmes to be screened in the German colour service, which starts next month.Tele 7 Jours, ?July, pages 82,83, Diana Rigg A Renonce A Shakespeare Pour Le Karate, author unknown, France.
TV Times, 21 September, page unknown, "Emma isn't me", says Diana Rigg, author unknown, England. (London region)
Daily Mail, 27 September 1967, page 1, "Emma, or Helena, being just Diana", (Avengers returning Friday)", England.
TV Times issue 622, 28 September 1967, page 15, Style With A Smile, The completion of the Rigg colour episodes, England.
Loosely speaking, The Avengers keep the scales of justice fairly well balanced. The weight often comes down on the side of the bizarre, the offbeat, the unexpected. Their justice is sometime rough. But the adventures of Emma Peel and John Steed usually end just like the picture (left). With Emma (Diana Rigg) and Steed (Patrick Macnee) smiling, immaculate, stylish. And, metaphorically, with tongues still fixed firmly in cheeks. The new series of The Avengers has now been completed. Diana and Pat are engaged in other pursuits. For Diana: the part of Helena in the film version of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," on location in Warwickshire. Patrick is holidaying in the United States (New York first, then on to California) with his family. (The picture referred to is the 'Scales of Justice' pose - I'll add it when I get a new scanner).TV Times issue 623, 5 October 1967, page 55, In Next Week's TV Times, Tantalising preview for the upcoming Diana Rigg profile and interview, England.
What more is there to say about Diana Rigg one of the most publicised actresses in television? We'll tell you - starting next week... The author is Henry Gris. Top name American journalist. He arranged a world tour to meet the famous. On it, he came to England for one story only - the stars of The Avengers. This is the first of them... to be followed at a later date by his series on Patrick Macnee.TV Times issue 625, 19 October 1967, pages 12-?, The Girl Behind Emma Peel - Part Two, Diana Rigg interview and profile part two, Henry Gris, England.
Bravo, 4 December 1967, pages 6,7,8,9,10, "Emma, laß uns nicht im Stich!", author unknown, Germany. The readers of Bravo magazine have their telephone questions answered by Diana Rigg.
Bravo, 4 December 1967, page 71, Bravo: Star Schnitt: Emma Peel, no author, Germany. Section of a cut-out-and-keep, almost life-sized poster of Diana Rigg as Emma Peel.
Daily Mail, 9 December 1967, page 9, Matrons in mink make the scene with Mr. Frost, Diana Rigg attends David Frost book launch, England.
TV Showtime, 12 January 1968, page unknown, Poster of Diana Rigg, no author, USA.
Photoplay, April 1968, pages unknown, Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg: The Avengers, author unknown, England. Five page feature.
Bravo, April 1968, article title unknown, Diana Rigg and Patrick Macnee receive the "Golden Otto" award, pages 1 & Unknown, Author Unknown, Germany.
Bravo, May 1968, article title unknown, Patrick Macnee interview, pages unknown, Author unknown, Germany. Note - this issue contains a flexi-disc that features Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg making acceptance speeches for the "Golden Otto". The voice artist who dubbed Patrick Macnee may also be on this, but it could also be the quality of the flexi-disc. Thanks to Uwe from Germany I now know that the voice-artist who dubbed Patrick Macnee for German audiences was Gert G. Hoffman, who also dubbed Sean Connery, and William Shatner's Captain Kirk. (Now there's a Trivial Pursuit question for you). Sadly, he died last year.
I do have a photocopy of an article from Bravo, which may or may not be from one of the above issues. However, in the interests of wider European co-operation I have transcribed it... in the original German. Click hier.TV Guide, 3 August 1968, pages 16,17,18, She's Miss Rigg of St. John's Wood Now, Robert Musel, USA. A look at Diana Rigg, post-Avengers.
Australasian Post, 31 October 1968, page 45, She'd like to go Western, no author, Australia. Short Diana Rigg piece with big picture.
TV Times Vol. 57, No. 58, 23 October 1969, pages 33,34,35,36,37,38,39 and 40, The Diana Rigg Drama Spectacular, England. This is a pull-out in the centre of the magazine.
Homes and Gardens, October 1970, pages 84,85, Star Quality: Diana Rigg interviewed by Paul Sheridan, Paul Sheridan, England.
Woman's Journal, June 1972, pages 23,24,25,26,27, Diana Rigg... an actress who knows, and speaks her mind, Ian Woodward, England.
TV Guide, 17 February 1973, pages 12,13, The Avenger Tries On A TV Role, ?, USA. (O, A4C)
Belle issue 11, May 1973, pages 20,21,22,23, The most eligible women ...in my opinion, Alan Mackenzie, Australia. Only relevant bit is on Diana Rigg on page 22.
OUI, August 1973, pages 62,63,64,109,"Conversation with Diana Rigg", Michael Kustow, USA. (O)
TV Guide issue 1071, 6 October 1973, pages 1,30,31,32,34,36,39, "Tall Redheads Always Get Caught", Arnold Hano, USA. Conversation with Diana Rigg re 'Diana' TV series. Perfunctory mention of The Avengers (O)
Titbits, 17 January 1974, pages 1, 14,15, Why I Was A Flop - by Diana, John Austin, England.
Titbits, 14 November 1974, pages 26,27, It's Fun To Be Fake!, Lucia Green, England. Diana Rigg models fake fur.
Time, 28 May 1979, pages 1,18,19,20,21,22,23, Britain's Best Actress, author unknown, USA. Diana Rigg interview.
Photoplay issue unknown, month unknown 1982, three pages, Diana Rigg: From The Avenging Emma to the Bitchy Arlena, author unknown, England. (N)
Starburst, March 1984, pages 1,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,24,25,26,27,28,29, The Best of British Tele-Fantasy, various authors, England. The page numbers only refer to The Avengers sections, which include an interview with Patrick Macnee, an overview of Diana Rigg's career and an episode guide.
The Sunday Mail (Brisbane?), 17 June 1990, page 47, Rigg peels off Emma, Sandra McLean, Australia
Vanity Fair, March 1991, page unknown, title unknown, author unknown, USA. Diana Rigg test-drives the new Lotus Elan.
TV Guide 40th Anniversary Issue, exact date in 1993 unknown, page 10, The Best Dramatic Actress: 1960s - Diana Rigg, author unknown, USA. (A5C)
The Daily Telegraph: The Telegraph Magazine, 23 October 1993, pages unknown (5 of them), The determination of Diana, Stephen Pile, England.
The Weekend Review, 10 June 1995, page 5, Avenging Diana, Alan Franks, Australia.
What's On TV, 7 October 1995, page ?, Sex A-Peel, author unknown, England.
The Avengers, Channel Four, Tuesday. In her time she has played some great theatrical roles but, for many, Dame Diana Rigg will always be the leather-clad, karate-kicking Emma Peel to Patrick Macnee's Steed in The Avengers. 'Middle-aged women still approach me to talk about Peel,' reveals Diana, now 57. 'For the first time they realised women could change things without men's help.' The Sixties series, which is being reshown from this week, made Diana a pin-up for thousands of men. 'The idea of me being a sex symbol made me laugh,' she says. 'To be a sex symbol, you have to take yourself seriously.'TV Guide, 15 August 1998, pages 28,29,30, Posh Spies, Ted Johnson & Vince Cosgrove, USA. Interviews with Diana Rigg and Patrick Macnee. (O)
Daily Mirror: The Look Magazine, 29 August, page 19, Peeling Back The Years, Steve Clark, England. Diana Rigg interview.
Sunday Telegraph Magazine, 6 September 1998, pages 1,12,13,14,15, Swinging Sixty, Nigel Farndale, England. Diana Rigg interview - 60th birthday.
Femme Fatales, September 1998, pages 1, 8-15, The Avengers - Diana Rigg On Her Timeless A-Peel, Ronald L. Smith, USA
TV Guide Crossword Magazine, 6 July 1999, Cover and brief mention of Diana Rigg in The Avengers, USA.
Daily Telegraph, 7 August 1999, page ?, Author ?, England. (I'm guessing here that this will cover the same story as The Guardian below)
The Guardian, 7 August 1999, page 7, Diana Rigg. Is she the sexiest TV star of all time?, Fiachra Gibbons, England.
Active Life, No number, Nov/Dec 1999, pages 1,12,13, Diana's Appeal, Rebecca Holloway, England.