Major The Hon. John Wickham Gascoyne Beresford Steed MC, OM usually known asJohn Steed, is a fictional character and the central protagonist on the popular 1960s British spy series The Avengers and its 1970s sequel The New Avengers, played by the latePatrick Macnee in both; by Donald Monat in the South-African radio series adaptation ofThe Avengers; by Ralph Fiennes in the 1998 film of the same name and by Julian Wadhamin the new Big Finish audio series The Avengers – The Lost Episodes.
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), Venus Smith (1962-1963), Dr. Martin King (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).
