John Steed
Major The Hon. John Wickham Gascoyne Beresford Steed MC OM usually known as John Steed, is a fictional character and the central protagonist on the 1960s British spy series The Avengers and its 1970s sequel The New Avengers, played by Patrick Macnee in both; by Donald Monat in the South-African radio series adaptation of The Avengers; by Ralph Fiennes in the 1998 film of the same name and by Julian Wadham in various audio adventures from Big Finish Productions.
| The Hon. John Wickham Gascoyne Beresford Steed MC OM | |
|---|---|
| The Avengers character | |
Macnee as John Steed with Linda Thorson as Tara King, 1968 | |
| First appearance | "Hot Snow", The Avengers episode 1 |
| Last appearance | "Emily", The New Avengers episode 26 The Avengers (1998 film) |
| Created by | Sydney Newman (character) Brian Clemens (background details) |
| Portrayed by | Patrick Macnee (series) Donald Monat (radio) Simon Oates (play) Ralph Fiennes (film) Julian Wadham (audio) |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Title | Major |
| Occupation | Secret agent |
| Nationality | English |
| Birth date | c.1925 |
| Birth place | London |
| Education | Eton College |
Steed is a secret agent working for an unnamed branch of British intelligence. He was teamed with a variety of partners, including Dr. David Keel (1961), Dr. Martin King (1962), Venus Smith (1962–1963), Cathy Gale (1962–1964), Emma Peel (1965–1968), Tara King (1968–1969), Lady Diana Forbes-Blakeney (1969), Purdey, and Mike Gambit (both 1976–1977).