In The Avengers: Too Many Targets, John Steed collaborates with Dr David Keel, Mrs Emma Peel, Mrs Cathy Gale and Miss Tara King in a new adaptation by John Dorney, taken from the 1990 novel of the same name, by John Peel and Dave Rogers.

Two agents are dead, and their murderers sound worryingly familiar. A killer gorilla is on the loose, a deadly disease is ravaging a distant country and an eminent Doctor has been kidnapped. It’s all pretty much business as usual.

But when John Steed is called in by his old boss and given an appalling task to complete at the same time as Tara is given one that’s even worse, it becomes clear that the myriad threads of a terrifying scheme are drawing together. The fate of the world hangs in the balance. Steed won’t be able to handle this case alone.

The Avengers are needed. All of them.

The role of the dapper spy, John Steed, will be reprised by Julian Wadham (The English Patient, The Iron Lady, Outlander) who has played the role in 34 The Avengers episodes produced by Big Finish Productions. Standing by his side will be Olivia Poulet (Back, In the Loop, The Thick of It, Sherlock) reprising the role of Mrs Emma Peel (from Big Finish’s The Avengers Comic Strip Adaptations), and Anthony Howell (Foyle’s War, The Other Boleyn Girl, Dracula) as Dr David Keel (from The Avengers: The Lost Episodes). Lucy Briggs-Owen (Doc Martin, Midsomer Murders) also returns as Carol Wilson, Keel’s devoted nurse.

“Well how lovely to be back in Avengerland,” says writer and adapter John Dorney, “It’s always been a delight to write for Steed, Keel and Peel so to come back to them and throw Cathy Gale and Tara King into the mix was a complete joy! Too Many Targets is a gorgeous romp of a novel, a smorgasbord of magnificent treats celebrating the complete run of the show that it was my immense pleasure to discover and adapt.”

“Too Many Targets is the ultimate celebration of The Avengers,” says producer David Richardson, “bringing John Steed together with all of his colleagues from the original 1960s TV series. John Peel and Dave Rogers’s original novel is a rollercoaster ride, and John Dorney’s adaptation includes all of the sheer joy and love of the series. It’s impossible to listen to this production without having a huge nostalgic smile on your face.

“And we’re delighted to introduce three more actors to the Avengers world – Beth Chalmers (Apple Tree Yard, Pat and Cabbage, Miranda) as Cathy Gale, Emily Woodward (Heroes and Villains, The Lock-In, Doctors) as Tara King, and Christopher Benjamin (Doctor Who, Jago & Litefoot, Pride and Prejudice) as Mother. Each of them was our first and only choice for the roles so we were delighted that they all came on board! For Christopher, it’s a return to the series having guest starred in three TV episodes: How to Succeed… at Murder, Never, Never Say Die, and Split.”

“We’re delighted to work again with the team at Big Finish,” says Massimo Moretti, UK Library Commercial Development Manager for StudiCanal, “to bring to the public another adventure from this beloved series. Once again The Avengers and its characters prove their enduring appeal”

This two-disc release will be available in August 2018, and is available to pre-order on CD at £14.99 or on download at £12.99.