Read

Quick Answer: In the Season 2 premiere of the 1980s detective show Remington Steele, Doris Roberts’ character Mildred Krebs is introduced as an IRS agent who is auditing Detective Steele. During the episode, Steele flees the country, and, with the help of his coworker Laura Holt, kidnaps Krebs and ties her up. Despite Steele’s behavior, by the end of the episode Krebs not only assists Steele with his tax troubles but also ends up becoming the agency’s receptionist, all thanks to Roberts’ charm and skills as an actress.

Doris Roberts is probably best remembered for her role as the mother in Everybody Loves Raymond (1996 - 2005). But to me, she’ll always be Mildred Krebs, secretary at the Remington Steele Detective Agency in the 1980s detective show Remington Steele (1982 - 1987).

The role of Mildred Krebs was originally intended to be an attractive 35-year-old woman who would be part of a love triangle, competing with private detective Laura Holt (Stephanie Zimbalist) for the affection of Steele (Pierce Brosnan). But Roberts asked to audition, and her performance convinced the executive producer not only to cast her, but also to reinvision the role. Roberts’ subsequent character arc—a no-nonsense, by-the-book IRS agent who arrives in the second season to audit the agency, only to become a fun-loving, gifted investigator and valued member of the team by the end of the same episode—expertly showcased her skills and range as an actress.

The seemingly unlikely turn of events occurs naturally due to Krebs’ gifts as an investigator and her desire to find something more out of life. When we first meet Krebs, she arrives to audit Steele. Unbeknownst to her, however, “Remington Steele” is a fictional male superior created by detective Holt when she realized that no one wanted to hire a female detective. As such, no returns have ever been filed for Steele, a fact that Krebs initially attributes to a computer error at the IRS. Panicking, the man who poses as Steele flees the office, and later the country, using the murder Holt is investigating in Acapulco as an excuse.

The arrival of straight-laced Mildred Krebs in Remington Steele

However, the unstoppable Krebs is able to track down Steele, despite his use of a false passport, and she locates him in the lobby of the hotel where he is staying under yet another fake name. Not wanting to blow his cover, Steele pretends—to Krebs’ horror—that she is his new bride, and he whisks her off to the honeymoon suite. When Krebs threatens to have him arrested and extradited, Steele knocks her unconscious and, with Holt’s help, ties up Krebs and leaves her in the hotel room so the pair can work on solving the murder.

Krebs arrives at the hotel

Steele and Holt eventually untie Krebs while explaining to her the circumstances of the murder investigation, and she agrees not to turn them over to the authorities.

Holt explains the murder to the tied-up Krebs

As the episode progresses, so does Krebs’ relationship with Steele. Steele purchases clothing for her (“The poor woman only brought a satchel full of tax returns”), and she brings him clean clothes when he’s hiding from the police in a men’s bathroom. Krebs also poses as his wife to help Steele and Holt stage a fight, helps Steele on a stakeout, drives a boat so that Steele can paraglide to Holt’s rescue, and calls the police when Holt and Steele recover the kidnapped woman and catch the bad guys.

Krebs pretends to comfort her “husband” during a staged fight

During this time, Krebs becomes more and more enthusiastic about detective work, and in particular, Steele. She eventually tells him, “I can’t believe this is happening to me – any of it! I mean, it’s like a dream! It’s like a fantasy! It’s like a James Bond movie! Oh you don’t know what a dull, drab life I’ve led, Mr. Steele. It was so colorless.”

Krebs and Steele on a stakeout

The three are eventually able to solve the case and return to the states, where Krebs then helps Steele with his tax issue. However, she has been fired from the IRS due to dereliction of duty, since she has not been to work since chasing Steele to Acapulco. Luckily for her, the agency’s receptionist Bernice Foxe (Janet DeMay) and third detective Murphy Michaels (James Read) had quit shortly before the beginning of the episode, leaving a vacancy for a receptionist who can perform some legwork. Since Krebs has proven herself to be enthusiastic and adept at detective work, she is hired, fulfilling the role of receptionist for the remainder of the series.

And it’s a good thing, too. From her blind devotion to her boss “Mr. Steele” to her quirky love of séances, Roberts brings a lot of life and laughs to the show. Her habit of telling people that she’s a detective also leads to some of the more amusing and memorable episodes. In “Hounded Steele” (S2:E21), for example, Krebs is moonlighting as a freelance pet detective and rescues a dog who was kidnapped by the unhinged Interpol agent Anatole Blaylock (Tom Baker) only to be kidnapped herself. She eventually solves the case, thanks in part to her bowling team. In “High Flying Steele” (S2:E13), Holt and Steele end up undercover as trapeze artists at a circus where Krebs had told the psychic she’s a detective.

And, like the audience, Krebs seems embroiled in the will-they-won’t-they of Holt and Steele’s relationship right from the start.

The depth of the character is all thanks to Doris Roberts’ performance and her ability to portray Krebs as more than just a secretary. She is funny, charming, intelligent and simply wonderful to watch. Roberts will be sorely missed.

“This has been the most incredible time of my life!”
Doris Roberts 1925 - 2016