Patrick Macnee

[kim]

Simply guessing on my part, but Clemmen's may not have said anything in order to protect the Austin's wife (was he married at the time?) or because they were friends or whatever.

Obviously there was no love lost between him, Bryce, and Thorson, so he could be less candid and not care. It may have even been his hope to get Thorson to quit so he could bring on someone he thought more appropriate to the role, but that didn't work so he "was stuck with Bryce's girlfriend". as he puts it and simply didn't see any reason to protect anyone that time around.

[Dandy Forsdyke]

That could be it. I've always thought Ray Austin and Brian Clemens were close - and they certainly go back a long way.

[DiVicenzo]

That could be it. I've always thought Ray Austin and Brian Clemens were close - and they certainly go back a long way.

I remember a story that Linda told us on The Dead Man's Treasure Hunt when she went to see Patrick in Palm Springs and she knocked on the door and it was opened to everyone being naked including Ray Austin in the swimming pool - not sure who opened the door and not sure if she said she took her clothes off as well.

She did mention something about her supposed affair with John Bryce saying that they were really just good friends.

[Timeless A-Peel]

That could be it. I've always thought Ray Austin and Brian Clemens were close - and they certainly go back a long way.

I remember a story that Linda told us on The Dead Man's Treasure Hunt when she went to see Patrick in Palm Springs and she knocked on the door and it was opened to everyone being naked including Ray Austin in the swimming pool - not sure who opened the door and not sure if she said she took her clothes off as well.

She did mention something about her supposed affair with John Bryce saying that they were really just good friends.

That's as much fun as Gareth's story about Cannes, or wherever it was/ Everyone seems to have a "nudist Patrick" story.

[Rodney]

Why Clemens has never mentioned any of this may be out of loyalty to Austin. In view of the fact that he has always argued that Shepherd simply wasn't Avengerish enough it would be a bit embarrassing to change story later.

[helenofirvine]

Everyone into the pool!!!!

[mousemeat]

Everyone into the pool!!!!

egads, it's near freezing here today...where's me knickers ?

As for Bryce-Thorson, I was led to believe-she was his project with the show, and his girlfriend at the time...and when Bryce was sacked, or did he
leave on his own ? Clemmons was left with Thorson..

[mousemeat]

Everyone into the pool!!!!

egads, it's near freezing here today...where's me knickers ?

As for Bryce-Thorson, I was led to believe-she was his project with the show, and his girlfriend at the time...and when Bryce was sacked, or did he
leave on his own ? Clemmons was left with Thorson..

[Frankymole]

If a woman even looked at a man the wrong way, she was considered a tramp and he was considered to be tempted. The man was considered to be too weak to resist, so therefore any affair would have been her fault and to avoid further problems you remove the temptation. Women were often fired from jobs because of affairs or even rumours of affairs, but because it was something that wasn't supposed to be talked about, other excuses were given..i.e, she wasn't good enough at her job, etc.

If she'd been as good in the lead role as Honor Blackman or Diana Rigg, they'd have found a way to keep her... Her other performances do rather point to the fact that she is as wooden as a timber plantation...

If the affair was known about on the recce, then why waste very expensive film, even more expensive filming time (all those wages!), and give oneself and editing nightmare... just film her scenes with someone else or only film the scenes she isn't in. They can't have said they needed to sack her before wasting the film - it must have been found out about during her second episode (Murder Market), as she got the boot after the funeral scenes.

Peter Graham Scott had such detailed tales of her many annoying and unwelcome "contributions" that I am sure he wasn't inventing it as a "cover story" - it was a long time ago, he'd long retired, there was nothing to gain from inventing a load of incidents for a handful of fans of his other shows, he had lots to talk about regarding those shows, so I can't see why he'd rehearse a lot of invented "reasons"... as said above, maybe the affair was just an excuse to lose someone who was not up to the job anyway (and if the director of a film thinks you're not up to the job, well, he's the only one who you should be impressing anyway! The "creator" who should be deciding on casting, really...). There was definitely someone who disliked her lack of professionalism (and I presume whom your father knew) i.e. Peter Graham Scott.

[Frankymole]

Thinking further about it, although this alleged affair does throw into sharp relief Clemens and Austin's pre-Avengers friendship (did Austin work on the series before the Emma Peel era?), the idea that "in the 60s" it was the done thing to sack the woman in any workplace affair (quite how the affair made Shepherd's position untenable I'm not sure), then it does make Patrick Macnee look very selfish indeed. He "tried it on" with Honor Blackman when she started on the show - in an earlier and even more prudish year - and if she had not so firmly rebuffed him with her "I'm married" convictions, and they had started an affair, she would have been easier to get rid of even than Shepherd - especially as the audience were used to seeing other partners like Venus Smith and Dr Martin King. Patrick was really playing with someone else's career, and that leaves a bad taste in the mouth.