I often think of Lady Penelope and Emma Peel [ Diana Rigg ] in the same instant .....ooh err! In my TV-addled brain they are almost interchangeable. Both are British agents. Both are from the Sixties.
Both are gorgeous [well, OK, Lady P's a bit wooden!], both drank tea and both are snappy dressers. They are Jane Austen Powers! Oh, behave!
Alright, we never saw Penelope karate-chop her way through a posse of hoodlums like Emma did every week, but given better special effects we could have done. The new Thunderbirds TV show may deliver on that score!
Lady P had her three-word slogan: Elegance, Charm and Deadly Danger and Emma and Steed, the Avengers, were known as Schirm, Charme und Melone in Germany. Literally Brolly, Charm and Bowler Hat.
I've no idea if the toy doll versions of these two femme fatales were interchangeable in kids' hands in the Sixties - I didn't have either of them, despite my Fairylite Parker and Action Man asking on a daily basis!
They'd love to see a picture of them both together if anyone can oblige, although they are both quite rare ladies by Fairylite [hmm, not sure about the makes. You?]
Who was/is your favourite female agent on TV readers and can any of them cut Penelope's strings?
pictures: tvserien.de, vectis
Diana.
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ReplyDeleteIt has to be said, that I've never fancied Lady Penelope. It is a different story with Mrs. Peel. Mind you, the delightful Emma should have considered drinking tea a bit more often, she doesn't half knock back the champaign!
ReplyDeleteIt would be a close battle, although Lady Penelope clearly has more gadgets in her car. These were my top two female stars of the 1960s. No one has ever equalled them.
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