BritBox has become something of a streaming repository for cult television, with fans flocking to the platform to watch old classics - some of which are difficult to track down on Blu-ray or DVD.

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It appeared yesterday (27th August) that the service had added another vintage gem as classic episodes of 1960s series The Avengers were available to stream.

These included a single episode from the first season – many episodes of which are now lost from the archives – and multiple episodes from the fourth season, starring Patrick Macnee as John Steed and Diana Rigg as Emma Peel.

However, in a mystery almost worthy of the show itself, The Avengers vanished from BritBox almost as quickly as it was added... so what happened?

A spokesperson for BritBox has informed RadioTimes.com that some content, including these Avengers episodes, was uploaded as the result of a technical fault.

Though the show remains off the service for now, BritBox hopes to be able to restore The Avengers for subscribers in future.

Airing between 1961 and 1969, espionage series The Avengers was initially fronted by the character Dr. David Keel (Ian Henry), though the focus later shifted to his sidekick John Steed, who became the main character and battled outlandish threats with a series of partners including Emma Peel, Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman) and Tara King (Linda Thorson).

BritBox recently expanded its cult TV offerings with the launch of an Out of this World collection on 20th August, containing classic Gerry Anderson series including Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons and Space: 1999, as well as other TV classics including The Prisoner and Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased).

The service also has all surviving episodes of classic Doctor Who available to stream.

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