Darren Lissaman, Head of Media at Ratcliffe College

In this blog post, I look at approaches to teaching ITV’s 1965 episode of The Avengers, ‘The Gravediggers’ when teaching Cambridge OCR GCSE Media Studies. Alongside Vigil (BBC One, 2021), this is a set product for the J200/01 Television topic. 

Broadcast in the middle of a decade of rapid social change, the episode reflects the shifting landscape of 1960s Britain and the global influences shaping television content. Cold War tensions, the second wave of feminism, Harold Wilson’s ‘white heat of technological revolution’, changing fashions, and widespread fear of ‘the other’ are all clear in the episode.

Historical and industrial contexts

The Avengers was first broadcast on ITV in 1961, at the height of the Cold War. The Berlin crisis of 1961 led to the construction of the Berlin Wall, deepening the divide between East and West. Ongoing rivalry between the USA and USSR, combined with the escalating arms race and the constant threat of nuclear war, created an atmosphere of suspicion and paranoia. This context heavily influenced spy dramas and thrillers of the period. 

‘The Gravediggers’ belongs to a trend of 1960s Cold War-inspired films and television dramas, including Danger Man (with Patrick McGoohan as a lone, more realistic spy), The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (an international spy team blending action and glamour), and the early James Bond films: Dr. No (1962), From Russia with Love (1963), and Goldfinger (1964). These texts frequently explored themes of espionage, secrecy, and global threats. 

The Avengers series became significantly more stylised when John Steed emerged as the central character. Emma Peel, played by Diana Rigg, joined the show in 1965, first appearing in ‘The Town of No Return’. She quickly became one of the programme’s most iconic figures, symbolising the modern, liberated woman of the decade. 

ITV, launched in 1955 as Britain’s first commercial television network, competed directly with the BBC. Funded by advertising rather than the licence fee, ITV was made up of regional companies (such as Granada and Thames) and quickly became known for popular entertainment and high-quality drama. The channel benefited from external revenue such as the $2 million the US ABC network paid for the rights to air The Avengers. This helped finance larger budgets and higher production values. Each episode of The Avengers cost over £30,000 to produce – a substantial sum for 1960s British television – reflecting the use of both studio sets and location filming. More information about the television industry in the 1960s can be found in the teacher guide for this topic available on Teach Cambridge.

Settings and narrative

‘The Gravediggers’ episode from series four is set around a rural military radar base, a graveyard, and various British countryside locations, as well as technical labs and control rooms. These settings strongly reflect the episode’s Cold War spy narrative, with its emphasis on secrecy, military authority, and technological surveillance. The fictional radar base clearly echoes the real-life RAF Fylingdales, linking the story directly to contemporary anxieties about national defence and espionage. 

The narrative follows a classic spy/crime structure. Steed and Emma Peel investigate a series of mysterious deaths connected to the military radar station. Themes of sabotage, espionage, and the potential misuse of advanced technology drive the plot, tapping into 1960s fears surrounding nuclear war and national security. Like most episodes of The Avengers, it employs a closed narrative: the threat is neutralised, order is restored, and the episode concludes with a light-hearted or humorous exchange between Steed and Peel. 

The opening scene is deliberately gothic and whimsical: a traditional graveyard burial complete with vicar and mourners in dark clothing. An antenna dramatically emerges from a grave, signifying the central themes of spying and surveillance. This is reinforced by technical problems at the radar base, including radio jamming. Dr Palmer appears as a frustrated radar expert obsessed with his invention, regardless of funding issues. Steed and Peel arrive to solve the case. 

The episode uses relatively simple camerawork and editing, typical of 1960s television production. Tension is built effectively through sound design, atmospheric settings, and the contrast between formal costumes (suits, military uniforms, lab coats) and the eerie graveyard environment. These elements align closely with spy genre conventions of the period.

Representations

Representations in ‘The Gravediggers’ are complex and multi-layered. John Steed embodies traditional post-war British values. Dressed in a tailored suit, steel-rimmed bowler hat, and carrying an umbrella, he symbolises British style, authority, and sophistication. A former World War II fighter pilot, Steed is unflappable, incorruptible, calm, and intelligent. His name itself suggests a strong, reliable horse, reinforcing his image as the quintessential English gentleman and symbol of traditional masculinity. He operates for a secret government organisation (similar to MI5, though never explicitly named) and consistently demonstrates control, whether in fight scenes or complex surveillance operations. 

This traditional masculinity is juxtaposed with Emma Peel, played by Diana Rigg. Highly intelligent, physically skilled in martial arts, and an equal partner to Steed, Emma represents the changing gender roles of the 1960s. Independent, single (a young widow whose husband disappeared on a mission), stylish, and confident, she challenges traditional female stereotypes. Her fashionable outfits connect her to contemporary youth culture and the growing sense of female empowerment. Her name is often interpreted as deriving from “M(ale) Appeal”, acknowledging her role in attracting a broad audience while still functioning as a progressive symbol of second-wave feminism. 

The 1960s saw significant social change for women: increasing workforce participation, greater access to education and careers, the rise of second-wave feminism, the impact of the contraceptive pill, and legislative steps such as the Abortion Act 1967 and the Equal Pay Act 1970. Emma Peel’s character reflects these social shifts in media representation. 

Other female characters offer a more traditional and sometimes contradictory view of gender. Nurse Spray is portrayed as caring and subordinate to male doctors and military figures, reinforcing conventional associations of women with care and service roles. Nurse Thirlwell is subordinate to the impostor Dr Johnson yet carries a gun – a paradoxical mix of traditional femininity and unexpected agency. Most authority figures and occupations in the episode (gravediggers, pallbearers, scientists, doctors) remain male. Emma Peel even masquerades as a nurse to infiltrate the hospital, where Nurse Thirlwell greets her with strict, old-fashioned rules: “No music in your room, no male visitors, no nail varnish, no elaborate hairdos, regulation stockings and in by ten o’clock every night…” 

Sir Horace Winslip provides comic relief as an eccentric, wealthy railway enthusiast. Unaware that his wealth is being exploited for criminal purposes, he has built a miniature railway in his garden. The climactic fight sequence on the train, with Emma tied to the railway line, deliberately evokes the silent movie era damsel in distress, complete with honky-tonk piano music and iris-in edits. This playful homage adds humour and self-aware intertextuality to the episode.

Conclusion

Overall, ‘The Gravediggers’ reflects key 1960s social and historical contexts, particularly Cold War anxieties, through its focus on espionage, secrecy, military technology, and national security. The narrative presents a clear threat but ultimately restores order, offering the reassuring closure expected by mainstream audiences. 

In terms of representation, the episode blends traditional and progressive elements. John Steed reinforces ideas of British authority and masculine control, while Emma Peel challenges gender stereotypes by embodying intelligence, independence, and equality. The portrayal of technology and authority figures also mirrors contemporary fears about surveillance and nuclear conflict. 

The episode demonstrates how ITV used entertaining, stylish drama to appeal to a wide audience while subtly engaging with the political and social issues of its time. It remains a clear example of how media texts are shaped by the historical moment in which they are produced, combining popular entertainment with deeper cultural meaning.

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About the author

As Head of Media at Ratcliffe College in Leicestershire, Darren has taught and managed diverse media courses for over 20 years. He is passionate about all forms of visual storytelling, ranging from Wes Anderson films and gritty Nordic noir to trashy TV. When he is not in the classroom, you can usually find him supporting Leicester City FC, watching cricket, or out in the garden with his pruning shears.

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