The Persuaders!

The Persuaders are two equally-matched men from different backgrounds who reluctantly team together to solve cases that the police and the courts cannot.

Danny Wilde, portrayed by Tony Curtis, is a rough diamond, educated and molded in the slums of New York City, who escaped by enlisting in the US Navy. He later became a millionaire in the oil business, subsequently making and then losing several fortunes as a Wall Street investor. Listless and without purpose, he jets around the world spending his money on frivolous ventures. Curtis himself had suffered a tough childhood in the Bronx, and also had served in the US Navy. Curtis was 46 when he made The Persuaders, but he performed all his own stunts and fight sequences.All of Wilde's biographical details come from the show's opening sequence, apart from Wilde having "made (and lost) several fortunes" which is from Judge Fulton's dialogue in the first episode, "Overture".

Lord Brett Rupert George Robert Andrew Sinclair, played by Roger Moore, is a polished British nobleman, educated at Harrow and Oxford, a former British Army officer, ex-racing car driver and race horse owner,, who addresses his colleague as "Daniel". Sinclair is described as well-educated and well off, but uses his privilege and assets only to eat luxury food, drink cocktails, and sleep with women. In the episode "The Ozerov Inheritance", Brett's full name is given as Brett Rupert George Robert Andrew Sinclair, Earl of Marnock, and it is confirmed that his grandfather was the 13th Earl.

A pair of globetrotting millionaire playboys, the men are brought together by retired Judge Fulton (Laurence Naismith) in the French Riviera. They instantly dislike each other and destroy a hotel bar during a fist-fight. They are arrested and delivered to Fulton, who offers them the choice of spending 90 days in jail or helping him to right errors of impunity. Grudgingly, Wilde and Sinclair agree to help Fulton to solve a case. He then releases them from any threat of jail.

The men develop a sparing affection for each other and soon stumble into more adventures, sometimes by chance, sometimes on commission from Judge Fulton. Although the Judge recurs in the series, he has no formal relationship with his two agents. Eleven episodes depict his finding a way to convince Wilde and Sinclair to act on his behalf. For instance, in "Angie, Angie" he easily convinces one of the pair. In "The Man in the Middle" he endangers his agents so that they must act on his behalf. When they are short of cash he lures them with money. In "Powerswitch" he manipulates events from the shadows, and Sinclair and Wilde do not know that he is involved.

Some episodes rely on Danny being mistaken for other people, usually by some bizarre coincidence. In "Element of Risk", he is mistaken for a criminal mastermind named Lomax, played by Shane Rimmer. In "Anyone Can Play", he is mistaken at a Brighton casino for a Russian spy paymaster.

In episode 12, "That's Me Over There", it appears that Sinclair has had a longstanding interest in crime-fighting, as he has had a dedicated telephone line installed for an informer on a master criminal. In episode 17, "Five Miles to Midnight", Sinclair tells Joan Collins's character that he is working for the judge because it has given him something worthwhile to do after his failed motor racing career. Wilde never reveals or explains his motives.

The Persuaders! titles and synthesiser theme, by John Barry,{{cite web|url=http://www.soundtrackcollector.com/catalog/composerdetail.php?composerid=80|title=Composer Details: John Barry - SoundtrackCollector.com}} establish the background and current identities of the protagonists via split-screen narrative technique:{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgLEdvRKAYI| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101101192927/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgLEdvRKAYI| archive-date=2010-11-01 | url-status=dead|title=YouTube| website=YouTube}} two dossiers, one red, one blue, labelled Danny Wilde and Brett Sinclair simultaneously depict their lives. The younger images of Tony Curtis are genuine, whereas the images of Roger Moore (with one exception) were mock-ups created for the credits. As the biographies approach their current ages, a series of four short sequences combine live footage with torn newspaper clippings, connoting their excitingly peripatetic lifestyles. The conclusion shows them together enjoying a life of sport, drink, women and gambling. The titles were specifically designed so that neither actor would appear to have top billing, something both Moore and Curtis stipulated when they agreed to co-star.

The title sequence retains a certain cachet among professional film editors. In 1995, Peugeot released an advertisement for the 306 car, with the theme of the opening title sequence, the split-screen process and even the voice of Michel Roux, who dubbed Tony Curtis in the French broadcast of the original series. In 2007, France 2 satirically used it to introduce a report about relations between the newly elected French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his first Prime Minister François Fillon.France 2 news, Thursday, 17 May 2007.

The protagonists drive signature cars. Danny Wilde drives a red left-hand-drive Ferrari Dino 246 GT (chassis number 00810). Brett Sinclair drives a UK-registered Bahama Yellow right-hand-drive 6-cylinder Aston Martin DBS (chassis number DBS/5636/R) with V8 wheels and markings. Both cars were provided to the show's producers courtesy of the respective vehicle manufacturers. The grey Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow chassis no. SRH2971 seen in the episode, "That's me over there", is known as the most filmed individual Rolls-Royce motor car ever.

As with Simon Templar – Roger Moore's character in the television series The Saint – Sinclair's car has personalised number plates of his initials: Simon Templar's were "ST 1", Brett Sinclair's are "BS 1" (except for one scene in the episode "The Gold Napoleon", where the car is seen with its real UK registration number PPP 6H). The true owner of the index number of Sinclair's car, Billy Smart, Jr., permitted its use in the series.

The Aston Martin from the show was sold by the factory after filming ended, via H.R. Owen in London, to its first private owner. It was restored in recent years by the Aston Martin factory, and is presently owned by divorce lawyer and art collector Jeremy Levison.{{cite web|url=http://www.levisonmeltzerpigott.co.uk/Jeremy_Levison.php|title=Levison • Meltzer • Pigott ~ Jeremy Levison}} Both Moore and Curtis had signed the underside of the car's boot (rear luggage compartment): Moore at Pinewood Studios in May 2003; Curtis at Cheltenham Racecourse in October 2008. In 2013, the Aston Martin DBS was an invited participant at two of Europe's most exclusive motoring concours, the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este at Lake Como, and the Salon Privé Concours in London.

Danny Wilde's Dino bears Italian registration plate MO 221400 (the 'MO' component represents the province of Modena, which happens to be the headquarters and manufacturing base of Ferrari). The exact whereabouts of the Dino today is unknown, but it is believed to be in private ownership in Italy.Chapman, Giles. TV Cars: Star cars from the world of television. Haynes. 2006.

• Tony Curtis as Danny Wilde
• Roger Moore as Lord Brett Sinclair
• Laurence Naismith as Judge Fulton

The concept of The Persuaders! originated in one of the final episodes of The Saint, titled "The Ex-King of Diamonds", wherein Simon Templar (Moore) is partnered with a Texas oilman (Stuart Damon) in a Monte Carlo gambling adventure. Pleased with that combination, Robert S. Baker and Lew Grade funded the new series. Unusually, production of the series began and continued without contracts among the producers and Moore.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}} Moreover, Moore's role as producer is not obvious from watching the series, but Curtis confirmed the fact: 'Roger was always like the host with the show, because it was his company that was producing it. I would say he was the largest independent owner of it; Roger and his company owned it with Bob Baker, and Sir Lew owned the rest of it.'

Curtis became involved in the series because ITC knew it needed an American co-star to ensure the series would be picked up by US television stations. Initially, the role was offered to Rock Hudson and Glenn Ford, but they each rejected the part. ITC then asked the American Broadcasting Company for a list of suitable actors, which included Tony Curtis. He eventually agreed, and flew to the UK in April 1970 to commence location filming.

Filming was conducted on location in Europe (such as location filming in France, Spain, Sweden, and Italy) and at Pinewood Studios in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire. In total, 24 episodes of The Persuaders! were completed; each cost £100,000, (or approx. £1,800,000 in 2007) to make. Only one series of The Persuaders! was made because Moore accepted the role of James Bond in the 007 franchise. In the DVD documentary, The Morning After, Baker stated that Grade was prepared to finance a second series, despite its failure in America, by re-casting with Noel Harrison, son of Rex Harrison, as a replacement for Moore. Baker states that he convinced Grade that the dynamic that Moore and Curtis had worked out was unique, and it was better to leave the series as it stood.

During The Persuaders!, Moore acted — officially and practically — as his own wardrobe stylist. It stemmed from genuine sartorial interests and because he was the director of textile firm Pearson and Foster.[http://www.roger-moore.com/pages/exclusive.htm Alan Davidson explains Moore as wardrobe artist on The Persuaders!] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070902005127/http://www.roger-moore.com/pages/exclusive.htm |date=2 September 2007}} Every episode carried the closing credit, 'Lord Sinclair's clothes designed by Roger Moore', with 'Roger Moore' written as a large signature.

There is much speculation about the professional relationship between Moore and Curtis, on- and off-set. In her autobiography Second Act, Joan Collins detailed how they did not get along when she was a guest star. She cited Curtis's foul temper as the reason why the set of the episode "Five Miles to Midnight" was tense. In a 2005 interview given to the British Film Institute, director Val Guest confirmed Collins's assessment of Curtis:{{cite web|url=https://secure.bfi.org.uk/features/interviews/guest.html|title=Val Guest interviewed at the BFI|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071010050138/https://secure.bfi.org.uk/features/interviews/guest.html|archive-date=10 October 2007}} {{blockquote|Yes, it was great fun doing The Persuaders in spite of Tony Curtis. [laughter] I'll tell you a funny story about that. Tony was on pot at the time and I used to have to say 'oh, go and have a smoke.' Because he always had some gripe of some kind. And one day we were shooting on the Croisette in Cannes. And we'd been roped off our little thing, and there were crowds all around watching us film and everything and Tony Curtis came down to do his scene and he was just carrying on at the wardrobe saying 'you didn't do this and you should have done that... and in Hollywood you would have been fired...' And dear Roger Moore walked over, took him by the lapels, looked him straight in the eyes and said 'and to think those lips once kissed Piper Laurie.' [laughter] Well, the whole of the Croisette collapsed, the unit collapsed and I must say even Tony had to laugh. But we were asked to do another... we got the award that year for the best TV series, I think it was, and they wanted to do a repeat and I remember Roger saying 'with Tony Curtis, not on your life.' And he went on to become James Bond, so he did all right.|Val Guest|director}}

In his autobiography, Still Dancing, Lew Grade noted that the actors "didn't hit it off all that well", because of different work ethics. According to Moore's autobiography, Curtis's use of cannabis was so extensive that he even smoked it in front of a police officer while filming at 10 Downing Street.My Word is My Bond: The Autobiography Despite third-party claims, Curtis and Moore consistently maintained they had an amicable working relationship. Moore said: "Tony and I had a good on- and off-screen relationship; we are two very different people, but we did share a sense of humour."

In a 2005 interview, Curtis referred to Moore with affection and stated that he would not participate in a remake of The Persuaders! without Moore.[http://www.roger-moore.com/tc/tc1.htm Tony Curtis talks to Roger Moore's official website] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927003016/http://www.roger-moore.com/tc/tc1.htm |date=27 September 2007}}

Although the series was placed in the Top 20 of most-viewed television series in Britain throughout 1971,{{cite web|url=http://www.fiftiesweb.com/tv-ratings-uk-70s.htm|title=Classic TV – Old UK TV Show Ratings – 70s- FiftiesWeb}} Lew Grade wanted it to do well in the profitable American television market. It followed his earlier series such as Man in a Suitcase, The Champions and The Baron. But The Persuaders! made little impact in America, airing on ABC on Saturday nights opposite Mission: Impossible.Chapman, James. Saints & Avengers: British Adventure Series of the 1960s. I.B. Tauris. 2002. Chapter 10. In an interview given in 2007, Curtis attributed the lack of success in the US to the ABC network failing to screen it at prime time.[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/the-persuaders-opposites-attract-411037.html The Persuaders: Opposites attract by Robert Sellers The Independent 8 Aug 2006] Shortly after the series' cancellation in 1972, Moore was cast as James Bond for the film Live and Let Die, in what would be the beginning of a successful seven-film run for Moore as Bond, putting paid to any chance of the series being resurrected.

ITC subsequently sought to repackage and re-release The Persuaders! in the American market, by editing eight of the episodes together and releasing them as four 90-minute TV movies (each comprising two episodes from the series, typically missing only their original opening and closing title sequences). These were:

• London Conspiracy (from "Greensleeves" and "A Home of One's Own". There is a piece from "Angie, Angie...")
• Sporting Chance (from "Someone Waiting" and "Anyone Can Play")
• Mission: Monte Carlo (from "Powerswitch" and "The Gold Napoleon")
• The Switch (from "The Ozerov Inheritance" and "Angie, Angie...")

There was also a proposed fifth TV movie but was not completed this was

• The Persuaders (from "Overture" and "The Man In The Middle")

But the trailer and opening is included in the 2006 Region 2 DVD/2011 Region B Blu Ray Network Special Edition set along with the 4 completed films and their trailers

• Death Becomes Me (from "Someone Like Me" and "A Death in the Family")

Despite the overall disappointment in the UK and US, The Persuaders! sold well in other international markets, particularly Continental Europe. This success allowed ITC to recoup much of its production costs, soon after principal photography was completed.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}} The series has remained popular in Germany, Denmark, France, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Russia, Hungary and Italy; episodes are still regularly repeated throughout Europe. For instance, DR2 in Denmark rebroadcast the entire series on weekday early evenings during the spring of 2012.

{{Div col}}

• Argentina, Chile: Dos Tipos Audaces ('Two Bold Characters')
• Colombia Dos Tipos Audaces ('Two Bold Characters')
• Belgium: De Speelvogels ('The Playboys') / Amicalement Vôtre ('Amicably Yours')
• Denmark: De Uheldige Helte ('The Hapless Heroes')
• Estonia: Kelmid ja Pühakud ('Crooks and Saints')
• Finland: Veijareita ja Pyhimyksiä ('Rascals and Saints') [the rascal is Tony Curtis and the saint is Roger Moore, naturally]
• France: Amicalement Vôtre ('Amicably Yours')
• Germany: Die Zwei ('The Two')
• Greece: Οι Αντίζηλοι ('The Rivals')
• Hungary: Minden Lében Két Kanál ('Two Spoons in Every Soup')
• Iceland: Fóstbræður ('Brothers in Arms')
• Iran: کاوشگران ('The Explorers')
• Iraq: ('The Persuaders')
• Israel: המשכנעים ('The Persuaders')
• Italy: Attenti a Quei Due ('Careful about Those Two')
• Japan: ダンディ2 華麗な冒険 ('Two Dandies' Brilliant Adventures')
• Latvia: Viltnieki ('The Tricksters')
• Lithuania: Įtikinėtojai! ('The Persuaders!')
• Mexico: Dos Tipos Audaces ('Two Bold Characters')
• Netherlands: De Versierders ('The Seducers')
• Norway: Gullguttene ('Golden Boys')
• Pakistan: کے محرک ('The Persuaders')
• Poland: Partnerzy ('Partners')
• Portugal: Os Persuasores ('The Persuaders')
• Romania: Brett și Danny ('Brett and Danny')
• Russia: Сыщики – любители экстра-класса ('Extra Class Amateur Detectives')
• Slovenia: Tekmeca ('Rivals')
• Spain: Los Persuasores ('The Persuaders')
• Sweden: Snobbar som Jobbar ('Snobs on the Job')
• Turkey: Kaygısızlar ('Relaxed Ones')
• Venezuela: Dos Tipos Audaces ('Two Bold Characters')
• Yugoslavia: Suparnici ('Rivals')

{{Div col end}}

In the UK, The Persuaders! had re-runs on Channel 4, Granada Plus, Bravo and ITV4 in the 1990s and 2000s. When the pilot episode, "Overture", was screened as part of Channel 4's nostalgia strand TV Heaven in 1992, that series' host (comedy writer Frank Muir) said in a Radio Times interview that The Persuaders! 'must have been the best bad series ever made... absolute hokum'. However, BBC Radio 5 presenter Dave Aldridge later asked: 'Was seventies TV really this good?'

Die Zwei, the German version of The Persuaders!, became a cult hit in Germany and Austria. This was largely because the dubbing was substantively altered, creating a completely different program.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}} In France, Amicalement Vôtre ('Amicably Yours') was based on the re-dubbed German version instead of the English original {{citation needed|date=March 2018}}.

The German dubbing was described{{by whom|date=September 2019}} as 'a unique mixture of street slang and ironic tongue-in-cheek remarks' and it 'even mentioned Lord Sinclair becoming 007 on one or two occasions'.{{cite web|url=http://debrief.commanderbond.net/index.php?s=4f61f6d3efca3dffc2d5bba2b148ee88&showtopic=40146|title=Question for people alive during the late 60s early 70s. – Roger Moore (1973–1985)}} Dialogue frequently broke the fourth wall with lines like 'Junge, lass doch die Sprüche, die setzen ja die nächste Folge ab!' ('Lad, just quit the big talk, or they'll cancel the next episode!') in S01/E05 at 44:36 or 'Du musst jetzt etwas schneller werden, sonst bist Du nicht synchron' ('You have to speed up [talk faster] now, or else you won't be in sync').{{citation needed|date=September 2019}}

Research from the University of Hamburg notes the only common elements between Die Zwei and The Persuaders! are the images. Other than 'the linguistic changes entailed by the process of translation, result in radically different characterizations of the protagonists of the series. The language use in the translations is characterized by a greater degree of sexual explicitness and verbal violence, as well as an unveiled pro-American attitude which is not found in the source texts.'{{cite thesis|title=The Secret Agent: Film dubbing and the influence of the English language on German communicative preferences|year= 2005| page= 32| last=Baumgarten|first= Nicole| journal=Theorie und Praxis der Filmsynchronisation| url=http://d-nb.info/97558300X/about/html}}

In 2006, a news story by CBS News on the German dubbing industry mentioned The Persuaders! The report discovered that many German dubbing artists believed that 'staying exactly true to the original was not always the highest aim'. Rainer Brandt, co-ordinator of the German dubbing of The Persuaders! and Curtis' dubbing voice, said: 'This spirit was invoked by the person who oversaw the adaption and also performed [Tony] Curtis' role: when a company says they want something to be commercially successful, to make people laugh, I give it a woof. I make them laugh like they would in a Bavarian beer garden.'{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/doubling-as-dubbers/|title=Doubling as 'Dubbers|publisher= CBS News|date= 28 September 2006}}

Other researchers suggest that international versions of The Persuaders! were given different translations, simply because the original English series would not have made sense to local audiences. For instance, the nuanced differences between the accents and manners of Curtis, the American self-made millionaire Danny Wilde from the Brooklyn slums, and Moore, the most polished British Lord Sinclair, would be hard to convey to foreign viewers. Argentinian academic Sergio Viaggio commented 'how could it have been preserved in Spanish? By turning Curtis into a low class Caracan and Moore into an aristocratic 'Madrileño'? Here, not even the approach that works with My Fair Lady would be of any avail; different sociolects of the same vernacular will not do — much less in subtitling, where all differences in accent are irreparably lost.'{{cite book|last=Viaggio|first= Sergio|title=A General Theory of interlingual Mediation|publisher= Frank & Timme|year= 2006|page= 258}}

• Winner – Logie Award 1972 Best Overseas Drama (Australia)
• Winner – TP de Oro Award 1973 Best Foreign Series (Spain)
• Winner – Bambi 1973 for Curtis and Moore (Germany)

{{original research section|date=August 2023}}

Airdates are from LWT London. ITV.History of ITV Regions varied date and order (Granada and Anglia, for instance, transmitted a day earlier). The production number refers to the order on Network's DVD.

{{Episode table |background=#ACE5EE |overall= |prodcode= |title= |director= |writer= |airdate= |episodes={{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber=1

| ProdCode=101

| Title=Overture

| WrittenBy=Brian Clemens

| DirectedBy=Basil Dearden

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1971|9|17|df=y}}

| ShortSummary=Mysterious invitations lead millionaire playboys Danny Wilde and Lord Brett Sinclair to Monte Carlo, where a woman named Maria (played by Imogen Hassall) holds the key to a crime syndicate that appears to be operating with a dead boss. Laurence Naismith co-stars as Judge Fulton.

| LineColor=#ACE5EE

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber=2

| ProdCode=106

| Title=The Gold Napoleon

| WrittenBy=Val Guest

| DirectedBy=Roy Ward Baker

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1971|9|24|df=y}}

| ShortSummary=The niece (Susan George) of a jeweller (Harold Goldblatt) is marked for death when she discovers that reproduction gold coins are being marketed as real. Towards the end of this episode, Lord Sinclair's Aston Martin is seen – in a chase across the Italian border – to reveal its true identity by way of its front number plate, being black characters on a white background, "PPP 6H".

| LineColor=#ACE5EE

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber=3

| ProdCode=108

| Title=Take Seven

| WrittenBy=Terry Nation

| DirectedBy=Sidney Hayers

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1971|10|1|df=y}}

| ShortSummary=When a supposedly dead man (Christian Roberts) reappears to claim his inheritance, a beautiful aristocrat (Sinéad Cusack) asks Brett and Danny to expose him as an imposter.

| LineColor=#ACE5EE

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber=4

| ProdCode=111

| Title=Greensleeves

| WrittenBy=Terence Feely

| DirectedBy=David Greene

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1971|10|8|df=y}}

| ShortSummary=An old, abandoned manor called Greensleeves is suspiciously restored unbeknownst to its rightful owner, Lord Sinclair. He must impersonate himself, and, with the help of Danny, discover why "MI5 agents" (Andrew Keir, Rosemary Nicols and Tom Adams) have invited Richard Congoto (Cy Grant), an African leader and old school friend of Brett's, to the manor for talks.

| LineColor=#ACE5EE

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber=5

| ProdCode=105

| Title=Powerswitch

| WrittenBy=John Kruse

| DirectedBy=Basil Dearden

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1971|10|15|df=y}}

| ShortSummary=A mysterious drowning leads Brett to a beautiful dancer (Annette Andre), and a man who appears to be an old business associate of Danny's. Although Judge Fulton appears in this episode, he does not share any scenes with Danny or Brett and both Danny and Brett are unaware that they are actually working on behalf of the Judge. |LineColor=#ACE5EE

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber=6

| ProdCode=117

| Title=The Time and the Place

| WrittenBy=Michael Pertwee

| DirectedBy=Roger Moore

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1971|10|22|df=y}}

| ShortSummary=No one will believe that Danny has found a veteran political journalist dead at the country estate of a right-wing British politician (Ian Hendry), when the "corpse" appears to be alive and well.

| LineColor=#ACE5EE

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber=7

| ProdCode=109

| Title=Someone Like Me

| WrittenBy=Terry Nation

| DirectedBy=Roy Ward Baker

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1971|10|29|df=y}}

| ShortSummary=Danny wants to meet Brett's reclusive multi-millionaire friend (Bernard Lee), but someone abducts Brett and places him in a mysterious hospital where an operation is planned to create a perfect double of him.

| LineColor=#ACE5EE

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber=8

| ProdCode=116

| Title=Anyone Can Play

| WrittenBy=Tony Williamson

| DirectedBy=Leslie Norman

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1971|11|5|df=y}}

| ShortSummary=Danny thinks he cannot lose when he plays his new betting system in an English casino, but whilst there he's mistaken for the paymaster of a very different system.

| LineColor=#ACE5EE

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber=9

| ProdCode=107

| Title=The Old, the New and the Deadly

| WrittenBy=Brian Clemens

| DirectedBy=Leslie Norman

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1971|11|12|df=y}}

| ShortSummary=Danny is mistaken for a blackmailer who is the target of both a cruel French Count (Patrick Troughton) and the beautiful daughter (Anna Gaël) of a disgraced politician.

In a hotel room scene, Danny rushes from the bathroom to answer the telephone – "Hello... yes, long distance... huh. No, this is not Mr Schwartz... you got the wrong room" – whilst a gunman simultaneously knocks at the door. This was an in-joke: Tony Curtis' real name was Bernard Schwartz.

| LineColor=#ACE5EE

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber=10

| ProdCode=104

| Title=Angie... Angie

| WrittenBy=Milton S. Gelman

| DirectedBy=Val Guest

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1971|11|19|df=y}}

| ShortSummary=Bullets fly on the French Riviera when Danny encounters Angie (Larry Storch), his childhood buddy from the old neighbourhood, whose path to retirement may mean a deadly retirement for Danny.

| LineColor=#ACE5EE

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber=11

| ProdCode=110

| Title=Chain of Events

| WrittenBy=Terry Nation

| DirectedBy=Peter Hunt

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1971|11|26|df=y}}

| ShortSummary=Danny gets himself chained to an attaché case intended for the British Secret Service (George Baker, Suzanna Leigh), and pursued by deadly Iron Curtain agents (Peter Vaughn et al.) who want the case back and the courier dead.

| LineColor=#ACE5EE

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber=12

| ProdCode=120

| Title=That's Me Over There

| WrittenBy= Brian Clemens

| DirectedBy=Leslie Norman

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1971|12|3|df=y}}

| ShortSummary=After a friend (Terence Edmond) of Brett's is murdered after gathering evidence on crooked businessman Thaddeus Krane (Geoffrey Keen), Brett himself is kidnapped by his henchmen (Derek Newark, Allan Cuthbertson, Neil Hallett, Peter Gilmore) and Danny must impersonate Brett at an auction to get key evidence from an endangered informant (Suzan Farmer).

| LineColor=#ACE5EE

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber=13

| ProdCode=118

| Title=The Long Goodbye

| WrittenBy=Michael Pertwee

| DirectedBy=Roger Moore

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1971|12|10|df=y}}

| ShortSummary=Fulton sends the boys to Scotland, where they find a wrecked plane, a dead scientist, and a formula for cheap synthetic fuel which attracts deadly interest as well as a string of beautiful girls, all claiming to be the late inventor's heiress.

| LineColor=#ACE5EE

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber=14

| ProdCode=124

| Title=The Man in the Middle

| WrittenBy=Donald James

| DirectedBy=Leslie Norman

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1971|12|17|df=y}}

| ShortSummary=Fulton persuades Brett to help identify a traitor in British Intelligence; but when Brett and Danny fall foul of MI5 agent Kay (Suzy Kendall), Brett's untrustworthy cousin Archie (Terry-Thomas) must save the day.

| LineColor=#ACE5EE

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber=15

| ProdCode=114

| Title=Element of Risk

| WrittenBy=Tony Barwick

| DirectedBy=Gerald Mayer

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1971|12|24|df=y}}

| ShortSummary=Brett must extricate Danny when he's mistaken for an American criminal mastermind (Shane Rimmer) whose suave confederate (Peter Bowles) is planning a gold heist. Margaret Nolan appears as Sophie. Carol Cleveland appears as "Girl at Airport"

| LineColor=#ACE5EE

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber=16

| ProdCode=119

| Title=A Home of One's Own

| WrittenBy=Terry Nation

| DirectedBy=James Hill

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1971|12|31|df=y}}

| ShortSummary=Danny gets more than he bargains for when his newest acquisition, an English country cottage, proves to house a deadly secret. Actress Hannah Gordon guest stars.

| LineColor=#ACE5EE

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber=17

| ProdCode=103

| Title=Five Miles to Midnight

| WrittenBy=Terry Nation

| DirectedBy=Val Guest

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1972|1|7|df=y}}

| ShortSummary=In Rome, Frank Rocco (Robert Hutton), a Mafia hitman, is on the run from the Mob after offering to turn state's evidence. Fulton asks Brett and Danny to get him out of the country, but when a beautiful photographer (Joan Collins) gets involved the boys find themselves in a shooting war.

| LineColor=#ACE5EE

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber=18

| ProdCode=122

| Title=Nuisance Value

| WrittenBy=David Rolfe and Tony Barwick

| DirectedBy=Leslie Norman

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1972|1|14|df=y}}

| ShortSummary=When the spoiled daughter (Vivienne Ventura) of an immensely wealthy man (George Murcell) is apparently kidnapped, Danny and Brett discover the unsuspected perils of double-dating, when suspicion of being behind the kidnapping falls on them!

| LineColor=#ACE5EE

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber=19

| ProdCode=113

| Title=The Morning After

| WrittenBy=Walter Black

| DirectedBy=Leslie Norman

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1972|1|21|df=y}}

| ShortSummary=Lord Sinclair wakes up from a wild party in Stockholm with a hangover – and a wife (Catherine Schell)! When the validity of the marriage is confirmed, Danny pursues clues that point to a Scandinavian diplomat (Griffith Jones) and a political conspiracy.

| LineColor=#ACE5EE

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber=20

| ProdCode=121

| Title=Read and Destroy

| WrittenBy=Peter Yeldham

| DirectedBy=Roy Ward Baker

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1972|1|28|df=y}}

| ShortSummary=When Brett's friend Felix (Joss Ackland) has woman trouble (with guest star Kate O'Mara), Brett and Danny are drawn into a deceptive game of espionage, as ex-spy Felix tries to publish his memoirs.

With Nigel Green.

| LineColor=#ACE5EE

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber=21

| ProdCode=123

| Title=A Death in the Family

| WrittenBy=Terry Nation

| DirectedBy=Sidney Hayers

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1972|2|4|df=y}}

| ShortSummary=Someone is killing off Brett's aristocratic relatives one by one, and unless he and Danny can identify the murderer the next name on the family tomb will be his own. Guest starring Denholm Elliott. (In a homage to Alec Guinness in the 1949 film Kind Hearts and Coronets, Roger Moore plays three different members, two men and a woman, of the Sinclair family and Tony Curtis appears as Danny's aunt at the end.)

| LineColor=#ACE5EE

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber=22

| ProdCode=112

| Title=The Ozerov Inheritance

| WrittenBy=Harry W. Junkin

| DirectedBy=Roy Ward Baker

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1972|2|11|df=y}}

| ShortSummary=Grand Duchess Ozerov (Gladys Cooper) seeks Brett's help in saving her family jewels; but her lovely granddaughter, the Princess Alexandra (Prunella Ransome), is not the only discovery the boys make when doing genealogical research.

| LineColor=#ACE5EE

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber=23

| ProdCode=102

| Title=To the Death, Baby

| WrittenBy=Donald James

| DirectedBy=Basil Dearden

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1972|2|18|df=y}}

| ShortSummary=Brett and Danny try to save a beautiful heiress (Jennie Linden) who is the target of a slippery con man (Terence Morgan); but there are other potential targets the boys have not considered, including a gangster (Harold Innocent) and some menacing Spaniards (Roger Delgado, Robert Russell et al).

| LineColor=#ACE5EE

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber=24

| ProdCode=115

| Title=Someone Waiting

| WrittenBy=Terry Nation

| DirectedBy=Peter Medak

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1972|2|25|df=y}}

| ShortSummary=Pursuing a beautiful ingénue (Penelope Horner), Brett and Danny are drawn into a multi-faceted affair with deadly implications when Brett resumes his motor racing career and an unknown saboteur seeks to wreck the next race.

Lois Maxwell plays a woman trying to fix Brett's race, she has no scenes with Moore.

| LineColor=#ACE5EE

}}

}}

The entire series was remastered for DVD release in Europe in 2001.

In 2006, because of its popularity in Britain, a nine-disc DVD special edition boxed set was released, with extra material to the complete, uncut, re-mastered 24-episode series.

In September 2011, the Region B Blu-ray box set containing all remastered, restored episodes of The Persuaders! was released to considerable praise from reviewers.

In Region 1, A&E Home Video, under license from Carlton International Media Ltd., released the entire series of the classic '70s British cult adventure series on DVD in two volume sets in 2003/2004.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}}

On 10 September 2014, it was announced that Visual Entertainment had acquired the rights to the series in Region 1 and would re-release all 24 episodes on DVD on 4 November 2014.{{cite web|url=http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Persuaders-Complete-Collection/20266|title=The Persuaders! DVD news: Announcement for The Persuaders! - The Complete Collection - TVShowsOnDVD.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911135602/http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Persuaders-Complete-Collection/20266|archive-date=11 September 2014}}

A motion picture was announced in 2005 with Steve Coogan and Ben Stiller.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4072634.stm|title=Coogan to star in new Persuaders |date=8 June 2005|work=BBC News|publisher=BBC |access-date=11 January 2009}} In 2007 Hugh Grant and George Clooney were later announced as the stars with Stiller attached as producer. The film was slated for a December 2008 release,{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1552053/Clooney-and-Grant-star-in-The-Persuaders-film.html|title=Clooney and Grant star in The Persuaders film |last=Walden|first=Celia |date=19 May 2007|work=Telegraph.co.uk|publisher=Telegraph Media Group|access-date=11 January 2009}} but was never completed.

The John Barry theme tune was also used as the walk on music by British 2 tone pioneers The Specials.

The series' theme song was sampled in the video for the single "Lavender" by Snoop Dogg. Fellow rapper Tyler, the Creator also sampled the theme song in his song, "Rise!", from Call Me If You Get Lost (2021). It was also used diegetically in the movie Nocturama, directed by Bertrand Bonello.

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Sister project links|commons=The Persuaders!|q=yes|b=no|wikt=no|s=no|n=no|v=no|voy=no}}

• {{IMDb title|id=0066701|title=The Persuaders!}}
• {{epguides|Persuaders}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20010202035400/http://www.itc-classics.com/ Official Persuaders appreciation society]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070225141902/http://www.televisionheaven.co.uk/persuade.htm Television Heaven]
• [https://www.flickr.com/photos/gold_napoleon/ The Persuaders Aston Martin DBS] photo gallery

{{DEFAULTSORT:Persuaders, The}}

Category:1971 British television series debuts

Category:1971 American television series debuts

Category:1972 British television series endings

Category:1972 American television series endings

Category:American Broadcasting Company original programming

Category:1970s British crime television series

Category:Television series by ITC Entertainment

Category:ITV television dramas

Category:Television series produced at Pinewood Studios

Category:American English-language television shows

Category:Action comedy television series