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{{Short description|Character from The New Avengers TV series}}
{{For|the gunmaker|James Purdey and Sons}}
{{Infobox character
'''Purdey''' is a [[fictional character]] in the [[Great Britain|British]] TV series ''[[The New Avengers (TV series)|The New Avengers]]'' played by [[Joanna Lumley]] from 1976–77. She was a [[spy]] working for [[British intelligence]], partnered with [[John Steed]] ([[Patrick Macnee]]) and [[Mike Gambit]] ([[Gareth Hunt]]).▼
| name = Purdey
| series = [[The New Avengers (TV series)|The New Avengers]]
| image =
| caption = [[Joanna Lumley]] as Purdey
| occupation =
| first = "The Eagle's Nest"
| last = "Emily"
| portrayer = [[Joanna Lumley]]
| voice =
| gender = Female
| relatives =
| spouse =
| nationality = [[Great Britain|British]]
}}
▲'''Purdey''' is a
==Character history==
When [[Brian Clemens]] and [[Albert Fennell]] first mapped out the characters for ''The New Avengers'' - an updating of ''[[The Avengers (TV series)|The Avengers]]'' - the female lead character was to have been named Charlie (or Charley), but the decision was made not to use the name. Lumley is credited with suggesting the character be named Purdey, after [[James Purdey and Sons]], a famous shotgun manufacturer.{{Citation needed|date=August 2009}} Lumley also chose the character's distinctive short haircut.
==Character biography==
Purdey is a [[martial arts]] expert practicing [[savate]] (learned, according to her, during her time with the [[Royal Ballet]], who let her go for being too tall) and (true to her namesake) an expert markswoman, who is often called upon to use her feminine attributes to distract villains. She is a motorcyclist and expert tap-dancer. Purdey saw Steed as an attractive, yet fatherly figure, and there was also ongoing banter and playful flirting between Purdey and Mike Gambit (although the series never indicated anything more in her relationship with either man).
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In the British Film Institute's 1996 tribute book, ''The Avengers'', Toby Miller writes: "''The New Avengers'' made a very public and lengthy search for a leading woman. Joan Bakewell likened the eventual choice, Lumley as Purdey, to 'a hockey captain attending a royal garden party'. Richard Afton went far enough to remark that 'sex has taken a long holiday', and Lumley looked back on it from the queer/libertarian-feminist credibility of ''[[Absolutely Fabulous]]'' to describe her Purdey as 'a huge disappointment, sex-wise'."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Miller |first1=Toby |title=The Avengers |date=1997 |publisher=British Film Institute |isbn=0-85170-558-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/avengers0000mill/page/79 79] |url=https://archive.org/details/avengers0000mill |url-access=registration |access-date=13 February 2020}}</ref>
Writing of Purdey's debut, Alan Hayes in ''Avenger World: The Avengers in Our Lives'' says, "Purdey was certainly no Emma Peel, and her sharp tongue and habit of intentionally making life difficult for Gambit flew in the face of the warm mutual respect between Steed and Peel, so I found that she grated somewhat (my opinion of her would eventually soften considerably)."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hayes |first1=Alan |title=Avenger World: The Avengers in Our Lives |date=2016 |publisher=Hidden Tiger |isbn=978-1-326-52250-6 |page=175 |url=https://
==Further reading==
* ''[https://
* ''[https://archive.org/details/avengers0000mill/mode/2up The Avengers]'' by Toby Miller, British Film Institute (1997)
* ''The Avengers Files: The Official Guide'' by Andrew Pixley, Reynolds & Hearn (2004)
* ''The Avengers: A Celebration: 50 Years of a Television Classic'' by Marcus Hearn, Titan Books (2010)
* ''[https://archive.org/details/thenewavengerstvtimessouvenirextra/mode/2up/ The New Avengers TV Times Souvenir Extra]'' (1976)
* ''[https://
* ''[https://
==References==
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{{DISPLAYTITLE:Purdey (''The New Avengers'')}}
[[Category:Fictional British
[[Category:Television characters introduced in 1976]]
[[Category:The Avengers (TV
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