avcsa0202_theantagoniser_1417Steed goes to the dogs; Emma avoids making a splash…

Paul Morris and Simon Barnard return for this slightly insane episode, mixing up the ingredients of the original Diana story into a tale of revenge and far too heavy petting. It’s one of those stories that would have been nigh on impossible to do convincingly on screen in the 1960s – nowadays you’d create all the animals with CGI – but which works on audio if, as happens here, it’s taken totally seriously by all those involved with it. Julian Wadham and Olivia Poulet’s Steed and Emma aren’t the only ones who have to treat the more outré elements of this story with a straight face – just one misjudged performance, and the whole thing could have come tumbling down, but director Ken Bentley ensures that doesn’t happen.

There’s something about these stories that will keep a smile on your face throughout. The urbane Steed and the vivacious Mrs Peel aren’t fazed by anything that’s thrown their way (listen to the way that Poulet’s Emma deals with those who want to feed her to the fishes – literally) and Morris and Barnard play with the audience expectations on a number of occasions to heighten the tension. (Oh – and despite the title, no animals were harmed during the production of this… I assume!)

Verdict: Another enjoyable return to an England that never quite was. 8/10

Paul Simpson

avcsa02_slipcase_1417sqSteed and Mrs Peel Volume 2 is available now from Big Finish