Patrick McGoohan in pictures: The Prisoner, Danger Man and more

McGoohan made his name with Danger Man, a TV spy drama that was first broadcast in the UK from 1960 to 1968. He played secret agent John Drake, who worked mainly for NATO but often questioned the ethics of his missions Photograph: Everett Collection/Rex Features

Unlike rival secret agent James Bond - a role which McGoohan turned down - Drake never seduced women. In this episode from 1965, Are You Going to be More Permanent?, the character flirts with Susan Hampshire but is disappointed when she turns out to be an enemy agent Photograph: ITV/Rex Features

McGooghan insisted that Drake never carried a gun, preferring to use his intelligence and charm rather than force. However, that did not prevent the character defending himself, as in this scene from the final episode, 1968's Shinda Shima Photograph: ITV/Rex Features

Before he rose to fame in Danger Man, McGoohan played a number of screen roles. Here is pictured in 1957 film Hell Drivers with Sean Connery and Sid James, as Stanley Baker is knocked to the floor Photograph: ITV/Rex Features

Following the success of Danger Man, McGoohan and George Markstein created The Prisoner, an innovative, surreal series blending elements of spy novels, sci-fi and psychological thrillers. Originally screened in 1967-68, the show did not attract big ratings but has influenced TV directors and film-makers Photograph: ITV/Rex Features

McGoohan famously drove a Lotus 7, registration number KAR 120C, in The Prisoner title sequence; the car was chosen by the actor himself. His character - who is never named - drives through London to a Westminster office, where he resigns from his job. When he returns home, he is knocked out with gas. He wakes up in what initially appears to be his flat, but turns out to be cottage in a mysterious Village where he is known only as Number Six Photograph: Public domain

After waking up in the Village and discovering he is a prisoner, Number Six explores and considers escape after meeting a former colleague. However, Rover, a roaring white sphere, prevents his escape on the beach. Here McGoohan is pictured during filming on the beach in Portmeirion, Wales, which served as the series' setting Photograph: ITV / Rex Features/ITV / Rex Features

McGoohan is pictured with Angelo Muscat, who played the Butler, a character who brought Number Six messages from his captors throughout the series. The penny-farthing bicycle was the logo of the Village - and of the series Photograph: AP

In the Schizoid Man episode the head of the Village, Number Two, replaces Number Six with a doppelganger. Here Number Six (right) and his duplicate are in a stand-off Photograph: CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images

Much of The Prisoner's atmosphere is derived from its setting in the surreal, sprawling Portmeiron resort village. Here McGoohan is pictured in the Checkmate episode, which centres around a giant chess game in which all the pieces are people Photograph: ITV/Rex Features

In the episode Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling, Number Six is deprived of his memory and his mind is implanted in the body of another man. He is then sent out of the Village to seek a missing scientist Photograph: ITV/Rex Features

In the following episode, Living In Harmony, Number Six is mysteriously transported into a Wild West setting. He is a former lawman in a town called Harmony who wants to leave but is forced into becoming the new sheriff by a villainous judge - a plot which parallels the series itself Photograph: ITV/Rex Features

In the episode The Girl Who Was Death, Number Six dresses up as an army colonel and battles a seductive, deadly woman and her magalomaniac father Photograph: ITV/Rex Features

The final episode, Free For All, proved highly controversial but ensured that the series would continue to be analysed by fans Photograph: ITV/Rex Features

Towards the end of the filming of The Prisoner in 1968, McGoohan was offered a role in the Hollywood adaptation of Alistair MacLean thriller Ice Station Zebra. Here he is pictured with Rock Hudson (left) and Ernest Borgnine (right) Photograph: Allstar/Allstar

MacGoohan played the jailer in Mike Newell's 1977 adaptation of The Man In The Iron Mask - a reversal of his role as Number Six in The Prisoner. Here he fights with escaped prisoner Richard Chamberlain Photograph: ITV/Rex Features

Similarly, McGoohan played the chief prison warder in in 1979's Escape From Alcatraz. Here he is pictured with Clint Eastwood Photograph: Paramount/Allstar

In 1996, McGoohan starred in the Hollywood version of comic strip The Phantom as the father of the title character, played by Billy Zane. He continued his involvement in TV and film with voice roles in The Simpsons and Treasure Planet Photograph: Paramount/Allstar