The Avengers

Tunnel of Fear is the twentieth episode of the first series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Ian Hendry, Patrick Macnee and Ingrid Hafner, and guest starring Stanley Platts, John Salew and Murray Hayne. It was recorded on 405-line monochrome videotape on 3 August 1961 and broadcast by the ABC on 5 August 1961. It is one of the three known complete season 1 episodes to have survived being purged from the ABC archives. The episode was directed by Don Leaver and written by John Kruse. Top secret information is leaking into Europe from a funfair somewhere in Southend. Coincidentally, Dr. Kee ( Ian Hendry) treats a patient injured in Southend, a man recently escaped from prison. In an attempt to solve the mystery, Steed (Patrick Macnee) Takes a job at the Fun Fair, but is eventually found out and knocked out, and a funhouse hypnotist attempts to extract information from him. Failing this, Steed is imprisoned on The Ghost Train, where he finds a machine that is transmitting coded information to Europe. Keel arrives in time to witness Steed bluffing his way out of captivity with an ""exploding cigarette.""