[5] Steed was a distinguished veteran of World War II, initially serving as a Royal Navy motor torpedo boat commander[6] (like Macnee) but at some point transferring to the Coldstream Guards[7] and then to the Intelligence Corps.

[10] In the New Avengers episode "Hostage" he refers to having spent time as a cowboy when he was 21, riding point for the 'Lazy T', on a cattle drive from Arizona to the Black Hills of Dakota.

There are few details regarding his family, although he does refer to an Aunt Penelope (who sends him weighty rock cakes by post) in "Dead Man's Treasure", a 13-year-old nephew in "Legacy of Death" and teenage niece.

His most common style of dress as Dr. Keel's sidekick was a trenchcoat and suit, though the famous bowler hat and umbrella appeared as early as "The Frighteners", the 15th episode to be aired.

For the final season of the original series (the Tara King era) Steed was shown taking his orders from an obese man called "Mother" who used a wheelchair (and once from a blind woman named "Father").

Out of all his partners, he was closest to Mrs Peel; while their interaction was often laced with dry, sardonic wit on both sides, he respected her as an equal, and owed her his life on more than a few occasions.

Other specially-equipped umbrellas included one that featured a sound recorder, one with a tip that could emit knock out gas, one with a camera hidden under the handle for covert photography,[16] and one that contained measures of whisky.

When meeting Tara King, Emma Peel informed her that Steed liked his tea with 3 sugars and stirred anti-clockwise and in the episode "The Morning After" professes to prefer to deal in guineas as currency.