The writer and producer Brian Clemens, who has died aged 83, was responsible for hundreds of hours of escapist television entertainment, including such enduringly popular programmes as The Avengers and The Professionals.
Even though he did not create The Avengers, Clemens was involved in the show from its first episode, in 1961, which he co-wrote. The series was originally conceived as a straightforward action-adventure vehicle for Ian Hendry, whose character, David Keel, was assisted by the mysterious John Steed, played by Patrick Macnee. When Hendry left after a year, an increasingly debonair Macnee was paired with Honor Blackman as the leather-clad Cathy Gale and a more offbeat tone emerged. After this successful transformation, and in order to be sold to America, the series began to be made on film, with Clemens becoming associate producer thanks to his experience in the medium. This caused some resentment among his colleagues, and, despite casting Diana Rigg as Emma Peel and turning the series into a global brand, Clemens was eventually fired.
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