Rigg Is Back on Familiar Turf: Solving Crimes on Television

Hordes of teenage girls growing up in the late 1960s wanted to be Emma Peel, the sexy, funny, brilliant and almost always jumpsuit-clad character in the popular series “The Avengers.” For four years, Diana Rigg played Emma Peel, who helped Patrick Macnee’s sophisticated sleuth John Steed solve crimes on the cult British series that aired on ABC from 1966-70. Not only could Rigg’s Peel land a devastating karate chop, she also decimated more than a few enemies with her rapier wit.

Rigg, now 60, has since found success in films and on stage, winning a Tony Award in 1994 for her powerhouse turn as “Medea.” Since 1989, Rigg has been the acerbic host of PBS’ “Mystery” series. She received an Emmy for her role as Mrs. Danvers in the 1997 “Masterpiece Theatre” version of “Rebecca.” Her latest TV project is the movie “The Mrs. Bradley Mysteries,” which debuts Sunday on cable’s BBC America. She talked about the stylish, witty sleuth, circa 1920s England, over tea.

Question: What drew you to “The Mrs. Bradley Mysteries”?

Answer: I like the fact that she is unexpected. She is not formulaic. I like the asides [the character makes] to the camera. It is a wonderful opportunity to express her thoughts, particularly in the ‘20s and ‘30s when social manners were pretty strict. You can break that by turning to the camera and saying, “I am having dinner with very boring people.” You can be outrageous without being a monster.

*

Q: Do you prefer theater over movies and television?

A: I’ve always moved freely between everything. I have spent seven months doing very heavy parts, and [now] I am going to be doing television. It has largely been like that.

*

Q: Are you surprised “The Avengers” is still popular?

A: Yes. One is surprised and sort of gratified in a sense that something you did all of those years ago isn’t old-fashioned and embarrassing. It is something that held its own over the years which is great.

*

Q: You came to America in 1973 to do the short-lived NBC sitcom “Diana.” Why did you decide to do a comedy series?

A: I had never done a sitcom. I thought I would give that a whirl. It was a big mistake because it was a carbon copy almost of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and I didn’t know that [when I agreed to do it]. It deserved to fail.

*

Q: A lot of British actors have left England to live in Los Angeles. Did you ever have any inkling to “go Hollywood”?

A: I knew where my roots were, where I needed to be nourished. Not that you can’t be nourished over here, but it is an alien culture to me.

* “The Mrs. Bradley Mysteries” can be seen Sunday at 7 p.m. on BBC America, available on TCI digital cable and via satellite on Primestar and EchoStar’s DISH network. The network has rated it TV-PG.