Brian Clemens, creator of The New Avengers and The Professionals, dies

His son George confirmed that he passed away in hospital on Saturday aged 83

Brian Clemens, the producer and screenwriter of some of television’s most classic shows, has died.

His son George confirmed that he passed away in hospital on Saturday aged 83.

“He was a true inspiration,” he told the BBC.

“The world has lost a really great man who has given so much.”

Clemens began in advertising, before he broke into film and TV by writing scripts for low-budget thrillers.

He was the mastermind behind the pilot episode of cult Sixties spy series The Avengers, starring Diana Rigg, Patrick Macnee and Honor Blackman.

Clemens kick-started Joanna Lumley’s acting career when he cast her for the Seventies re-launch of the series, The New Avengers.

The show folded after two seasons, he started work on The A-Squad, a TV spy series about the C15 who are employed to fight terrorism.

He renamed it The Professionals, and it went on to become his biggest commercial hit in the UK, attracting audiences upwards of 15million.

Clemens also lists a number of films to his screenwriting credits, including Hammer horrors Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde and Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter, and classic thriller And Soon The Darkness.

In 2010, he was awarded an OBE for his services.