AS EMMA PEEL, DIANA Rigg distilled not just the spirit of The Avengers but the 1960s themselves: stylish, self-possessed, with a weapons-grade dose of mischief.
ALAMY
Born in Doncaster in 1938, she joined the Royal Shakespeare Company after training at RADA. She was not the first choice for the empowered Mrs Peel, only winning the gig after a miscast Elizabeth Shepherd was axed after filming two abortive episodes.