Her curvaceous figure and stunning looks – usually shown off to perfection in a black leather catsuit – won her a devoted following in the Sixties. Now, more than 40 years on, it seems Diana Rigg is still as popular as ever.
Aged 64, the actress who portrayed Emma Peel in the cult series The Avengers has just been voted the sexiest TV star of all time. She shares her top slot with US heart-throb George Clooney, who, although now a familiar face on the big screen, made his name in the hit medical drama ER.
Undertaken by influential TV Guide magazine, the poll was compiled by present and former editors of the publication. Senior editor Robert Rorke said Ms Rigg’s image had stood the test of time better than that of many other TV beauties, and that she and George had delivered characters who would be remembered for years to come.
“You had to be not just beautiful or cute to get on this list but really sexy,” he says, adding: “The contemporary people on this list had to transcend the buzz of the moment.”
Also peaking in the rankings were 70-year-old Police Woman star Angie Dickinson, Denzel Washington – for St Elsewhere – and Magnum PI actor Tom Selleck. Farrah Fawcett’s stint as a Charlie’s Angel put her in the number 10 position, while hot on her heels came Cher, at 13, and Jennifer Aniston at 15.