Tara King is a fictional character of British 1960s adventure

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

series '' The Avengers'', played by Canadian actress

Linda Thorson Linda Thorson (born Linda Robinson; June 18, 1947) is a Canadian actress, known for playing Tara King in '' The Avengers'' (1968–69). Personal life Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, she attended Bishop Strachan School, and then moved to the ...

. The sixth partner of agent

John Steed Major The Hon. John Wickham Gascoyne Beresford Steed 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 Patr ...

(and fourth female partner), she appeared in series six (in colour) of the series (

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

–

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

), playing in 33 episodes. She is

Emma Peel Emma Peel is a fictional spy played by Diana Rigg in the British 1960s adventure television series '' The Avengers'', and by Uma Thurman in the 1998 film version. She was born Emma Knight, the daughter of an industrialist, Sir John Knight. She ...

's successor. She is also the first of John Steed's partners to be a real

spy Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...

. Viewers are not given any indication whether or not she is related to Dr. Martin King — played by

Jon Rollason Jon Rollason (9 April 1931 – 20 February 2016) was an English television actor. He is best remembered for the role of Dr. Martin King in '' The Avengers''. He also appeared in episodes of '' Doctor Who'' (as Harold Chorley in ''The Web of Fea ...

— one of Steed's partners from series 2.

Character

Arrival

Unlike Steed's other partners, we know few things about her. She enlisted at an early age in the Intelligence Service as a trainee, under the number 69. Her first contact with the bowler-hatted agent is described in the first episode of season 6: "

The Forget-Me-Knot "The Forget-Me-Knot" is the first episode of the sixth series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series '' The Avengers'', starring Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg, and introducing Linda Thorson as Tara King. Its first broadcast was on the ...

". This was a rather spectacular meeting: thinking Steed is the "enemy" of her training, she pounces on him before she realises she has made a mistake. Shortly after, she makes Steed's acquaintance. During their talk, we learn John Steed is considered as an idol by all agents, Tara included. She then helps him to resolve the episode's investigation. Episode ending: Emma Peel leaves Steed and her life as a "talented amateur" to go back to her husband, Peter Peel, who has been miraculously found in the Amazonian jungle, two years after his plane crashed. This means Steed needs a new partner: he phones his boss

Mother ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given childbirth, birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the cas ...

, who "knows his tastes". Mother appoints Tara King to replace Emma. Tara comes to Steed's flat just in time to pass Mrs Peel on the stairs. Emma (whom she has never met before) gives her a piece of advice: how to stir Steed's tea (''anticlockwise''). This scene, where Emma passes the torch to Tara, is one of the best-known sequences of the series. Tara arrives at Steed's flat and, although he is saddened by Emma's departure, he is delighted to see his new partner, greeting her with the words "Tara – Ra-boom-di-ay". The clear implication is that she will not only replace Mrs. Peel in Steed's professional career, but also in his personal life. For the remainder of the series, his relationship with her was more flirtatious and physical than with Mrs. Peel. Just before he meets Tara, Steed looks out of his window to see Mrs Peel picked up by Peter Peel in his car. We only see Peter from behind, but he clearly has a Steed-like style and image, with dark suit, bowler hat and umbrella. Steed looks at the scene, appearing to be puzzled/intrigued.

Characterisation

Dave Rogers writes in ''The Complete Avengers: The Full Story of Britain's Smash Crime-Fightin Team!'': "Unlike Steed's earlier partners, Tara was single. 'It was my idea,' Linda told me. 'They suggested it might seem indecent for a single girl to be shown in his flat and perhaps having stayed overnight. I thought it was highly indecent for a ''married'' woman to be staying with him. So I persuaded them that it was much better for Tara to be single. Before my series, you had never really seen a girl making a fuss of Steed. But I saw Tara as being in love with him -- absolutely, unquestionably in love." Tara was originally blonde but the shock of a grenade blast during 'The Great Great Britain Crime' subsequently turned her hair brunette. She states that she dislikes parties but loves skiing, motor sport, fashion and classical musicand as a 2 year old she went to Alaska. She normally carries a Smith & Wesson Model 40 Centennial 38 calibre revolver. Tara continued the Lotus connection driving a red Lotus Europa, Lotus 54 in 8 episodes, and a Lotus 50 in 1. For ten episodes she drove an

AC 428 __NOTOC__ Year 428 ( CDXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Felix and Taurus (or, less frequently, year 1181 ''Ab urb ...

initially meant to be Steed's car.

Reception

In the British Film Institute's 1996 tribute book, ''The Avengers'', Toby Miller writes: "After Thorson was selected to replace Rigg, the discourse on her tells us where the producers saw the programme going. Publicists suggested she was chosen because she looked like

Shirley MacLaine Shirley MacLaine (born Shirley MacLean Beaty, April 24, 1934) is an American actress, author, and former dancer. Known for her portrayals of quirky, strong-willed and eccentric women, MacLaine has received numerous accolades over her seven-dec ...

, was five feet nine inches tall, 'and 38 inches elsewhere'... Thorson was said to want a decidedly sexual relationship between her character and Macnee's and was quoted as favouring topless bathing, not wearing brassières, and seeing her role as using 'sex appeal rather than force' to get what she wanted from men. To critics like Banks-Smith, swinging a handbag rather than fighting made her 'a far more probable woman' than her predecessors."

In other media

Emily Woodward plays Tara in the audio adaptations of ''The Avengers'' produced by

Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on cult science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'', the ...

References