Was There Always Only One Steed?
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The Different Faces Of A Multifaceted Diamond

"The Avengers" began in early January 1961 and finished in 1969. Some time later a revival was made, which ran through 1976-1977. That is, in a sixteen-year period, which totalled ten years of continuous work, unlike all of his co-stars, Patrick Macnee remained loyal to the show.

Macnee hadn't even turned 39 when he dressed for the first time in his three-piece suits, and adopted his bowler hat and umbrella as his trademark. And he was 55 when he hung up his fancy clothes at the end of "The New Avengers." Many years had passed in his life, but also in Steed's.

That passing of time consisted of many things: Pat's gained experience, the improvement of his acting style, the directives coming from the producers, and the daily tendency to confer this or that peculiarity to his character. However, most especially, we witnessed a fascinating bonding of a male co-star to many upcoming female co-stars, with his subsequent adjustment to their disparate techniques and his unique and individual relationship and interaction with each of them; all of those aspects of the show converged to set the logical evolution of a character that has lasted for so many years on the TV screen.

Steed grew up in a spectacular decade, in which changes of all sorts were taking place all the time. These changes were visible in "The Avengers," remaining as guests of honor and becoming key elements for the progress of the series.

When it was evident that the series would turn out to be a virtual relay race, where each female co-star would keep the baton in her hand for a lap that would never last longer than 20 months, the biggest evolutionary challenge began. In fact, the executives, scriptwriters and producers of the show never threw themselves into a search for a common denominator that linked the actresses together. Furthermore, when Honor Blackman quit her role of Cathy Gale in March 1964, nobody had the slightest idea about who would be her successor. Nobody even knew if the show itself would continue. Eventually, with the happy acquisition of Diana Rigg it was sufficiently clear that she would not follow in Honor Blackman's steps, but instead create a wholly new character. The same happened in 1967 upon Linda Thorson's arrival, and nearly 10 years later, once the second version known as "The New Avengers" was aired, featuring Joanna Lumley.

Consequently, if his co-stars (from Dr. Keel to Purdey and Gambit) were never the same, therefore, as a logical deduction, as time rolled on, Steed couldn't be the same, either. And he wasn't. On the contrary, his different facets shine very clearly for all of us who have carefully explored their contours over the stages of the series and, episode by episode, have put Steed under the magnifying glass.

The following are some of the conclusions that come to light, which inevitably will be mixed with the relationship Steed had with each different partner.