RIP Diana Rigg
The death of Dame Diana Rigg has been announced.
I love a bit of spy-fi, so naturally this makes me very sad. Many a 'Bond girl' lingers in the mind, so you'd think the girl who captivated the womanising spy enough to become Mrs Bond would be remembered as such... except that Diana Rigg played a far more memorable character before that, starring as Mrs Emma Peel in 51 episodes of The Avengers, seeing that series' transition from black-and-white to garish 60s colour, from reasonably sensible to wonderfully surreal.
So many actresses' careers fade when their youth does, but Diana Rigg continued to captivate on screen, because she always conveyed intelligence as well as possessing great beauty.
Another role I loved her in was as the eponymous Mrs Bradley in The Mrs Bradley Mysteries. There were only five episodes of the 1920s-set show made, but they were so good and solid they stick in the memory longer than many other, longer series.
As recently as 2017 she was stealing scenes as Olenna Tyrell in Game Of Thrones. I loved her in that for being so aged, yet so powerful and ruthless – Diana Rigg was never going to play some sweet little old lady.
Still, it always comes back to Mrs Peel for me. That pop of champagne, that blithe recklessness, those brightly-hued 'emmapeelers' she wore. Every bit Steed's equal, theirs was a partnership of respect and perfectly balanced power. Combining talent and grace, Diana Rigg was a queen of spy-fi.
I've just read it too. And she will always be Mrs. Peel for me as well. xxx
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that Emma Peel is the one female character everyone remembers, and the one they tried putting in the terrible film version. As lovely as Uma Thurmann is, she was no Diana Rigg as Mrs P.
DeleteSad news indeed (and I heard it here first, so thanks for the public service!), but what a life well-lived, eh? It's a wonderful legacy she's left behind, too, and "The Mrs Bradley Mysteries" is a particular favourite of mine as well. My fiancée and I are also both big Avengers fans (particularly the Emma Peel era) so were very sorry to learn of her passing. We watched the episode "A Touch of Brimstone" - the one with "that" outfit which she designed herself - last night by way of remembrance and had only just recently seen her in "The Assassination Bureau", another bit of Sixties camp that I expect you'd enjoy.
ReplyDeleteYes, I like those episodes. A Touch Of Brimstone is pretty much unforgettable. I like pretty much all her episodes. I find the really early Avengers, with David Keel and John Steed, a bit dry - they needed the ladies to spice things up, and Mrs Peel brought the biggest spice jar of all.
DeleteI only knew her from her role in The Avengers and in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. I had no idea she was Guy Garvey's mother in law! x
ReplyDeleteNow I'm going to look up who Guy Garvey is...
Delete...AH!
I do love the fact she acted into old age. There are so few visible older women in films/TV, let alone ones playing the sort of powerful characters she played.
I loved here as Mrs. Peel, and loved seeing her in Game of Thrones, where she commanded/stole every scene she was in! RIP, Diana!
ReplyDeleteI loved her in GoT. Can't think of many other genre shows where a woman's been unapologetically old *and* powerful. Avasarala in The Expanse is an old woman in the books, but they've made her much more glamorous in the TV series.
Delete