on Springbok Radio, the English-language service of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC); it was recorded at Sonovision Studios in Johannesburg, produced by Dave Gooden, the original TV scripts were adapted and directed by Tony Jay, for the first six months and Dennis Folbigge for the remainder. South Africa did not have national television until 1976. The episodes were adapted from both Emma Peel and Tara King episodes (with Tara changed to Emma Peel throughout). The Avengers were played by two British expatriate actors, Donald Monat as Steed and Diane Appleby as Mrs Peel, with Hugh Rouse as the tongue-in-cheek narrator. The stories were adapted into five-episode serials under Tony Jay and six- and seven-episode serials under Dennis Folbigge, of approximately 15 minutes each (including adverts) and stripped across the week, Monday-Friday, on Springbok Radio. Currently only 19 complete serials survive, all from reel-to-reel off-air recordings made by John Wright in 1972. Also, the first three episodes of a remake of Escape in Time currently exist. Episodes 1 and 2 are copies from the original Sonovision tapes, and episode 3 is from an off-air recording, on audio cassette, made by Barbara Peterson; the rest of this serial is still missing. These episodes are also known to have been transmitted in New York on station WBAI on 99.5 FM, from 1977 to the early 1990s, and are currently being transmitted on Miami station WRGP on early Monday mornings. Copies from the original off-air recordings have been restored by Alan and Alys Hayes, and can be heard at their "The Avengers Declassified" website and its sister website "Avengers on the Radio". Many more serials were broadcast during its two-year run on South African radio; it is thought 83 serials were made and transmitted, but no other episodes are known to exist at present. Film Plans for a feature-length adaptation based upon the series circulated during the 1960s, 1980s and 1990s, with Mel Gibson at one point being considered a front-runner for the role of Steed. Ultimately, the 1998 film, starring Uma Thurman as Emma Peel and Ralph Fiennes as John Steed, with Sean Connery as the villain, received extremely negative reviews from critics and fans, and is a notorious commercial failure. Audio In June 2013, Big Finish Productions signed a license with StudioCanal to produce full-cast audio productions of 12 lost first season episodes. The main cast includes Julian Wadham as Steed,