One of Britains most beloved actors, Dame Diana Rigg has died, it has been announced. The hugely popular performer, known for roles from The Avengers to Game of Thrones as well as a hugely diverse range of stage roles, had celebrated her 82nd birthday on 20th July and is currently appearing in Channel 5’s All Creatures Great and Small.
Diana made her professional stage debut in The Caucasian Chalk Circle and joined the RSC in 1959. In the 1960s she rose to national fame as Emma Peel in The Avengers. Brought up in India and at a Yorkshire boarding school, she appeared on the silver screen in Theatre of Blood with Vincent Price and as a Bond Girl in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. On stage, she appeared opposite Sir Laurence Olivier in King Lear, and in notable roles at the National Theatre including Medea and Mother Courage and her Children.
Sex symbol, superstar and huge wit, she was known to be hugely entertaining offstage and a brilliant woman with a naughty sense of humour. She is a huge loss to the Theatrical community and to the nation.