Tara King

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This article is about the 1960s television character. For the model who is often credited as Tara King, see Tara O'Connor.

Tara King was a fictional character played by Canadian actress Linda Thorson in the 1960s television series, The Avengers. She was the last in a line of assistants to secret agent John Steed, following David Keel, Cathy Gale and Emma Peel.

Tara was introduced in the 1968 episode "The Forget-Me-Knot" as a recently-recruited agent working for "Mother", Steed's portly, wheelchair-bound superior. Initially she is set in pursuit of Steed, who is believed to have turned to the enemy, but she is soon won over. At the end of the episode, Emma Peel's long-lost husband is located and she takes her leave of Steed. Mother assigns Tara King to be the agent's new partner.

King was a change from Steed's previous two partners, in that she was considerably younger (both Gale and Peel were depicted as being in their early 30s) and less sure of herself, although still capable with a gun or martial arts. She was shown to be more fallible than her predecessors. Also, unlike the previous partnerships that offered little more than sexual tension, Tara King was openly shown to be attracted to Steed and a romantic relationship was hinted at on more than one occasion.

Tara King was the last new "Avenger" of the series, as falling ratings in the United States led to the British production being cancelled. When last seen on screen, King and Steed are shown having a glass of champagne aboard a rocket they've accidentally launched while still aboard; Mother, meanwhile, breaks the fourth wall and tells the viewers "They'll be back!" before adding, in shock, "They're unchaperoned up there!"

In the early 1970s, Thorson and Macnee reprised their roles for a French TV commercial. The popularity of this commercial eventually led to the commissioning of a revival series, The New Avengers, but Thorson did not return to the role.