Nicola Walker narrates a tribute to the late performer…
Diana Rigg was one of Britain’s finest actresses. She achieved virtually instant stardom in 1965 when cast as agent Emma Peel in The Avengers, the biggest television show of the time. She only stayed for two series of the ITV aired show before her first major film, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, opposite George Lazenby’s James Bond, and by the 1970s she was well established as an international star.
Perhaps as a consequence of her unconventional childhood split between India and her native Yorkshire, Diana had both a resilience and a willingness to defy expectations. Her career reflected this.
She would follow periods of stage work in Shakespeare or classical drama by appearing in her own American sitcom or gamely guesting with Morecambe and Wise on television. She worked with Laurence Olivier and, as one of the most sought-after actresses of her generation, shared the stage with some of the giants of British theatre. She was made a Dame in 1994.
Diana’s performance in a TV adaptation of Rebecca in 1997 won her an Emmy Award that brought her to the attention of a new generation of Hollywood producers who would ultimately cast her as Lady Olenna Tyrrell in Game of Thrones. The series became a major global phenomenon, bringing Dame Diana a new young fanbase and renewed critical recognition. Her final work on television was in the Channel 5 series All Creatures Great and Small.
In this film charting her extraordinary life and career, Diana’s work is reflected upon by her peers and admirers including Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Charles Dance, Jonathan Ross, Elaine Paige, Samira Ahmed and Edgar Wright, the director of Dame Diana’s final work on screen in the film Last Night in Soho.
A book celebrating the world of ABC TV’s The Avengers is on sale now.
Diana Rigg: From Avengers to All Creatures: A Celebration, Channel 5, Monday, December 23rd at 10.15pm