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Actor who was both heart-throb and hardman as Bodie in The Professionals

In a 1980 episode of the hit British cop show The Professionals, an ill-advised villain tries to threaten the ex-mercenary William Bodie with his snarling doberman pinscher. After a brief altercation, Bodie, all sang-froid and minimally curled lip, inquires: "Would your little dog like to chew this electric fire? Or maybe you'll just leave."

This kind of butch badinage, along with rugged good looks, helped make Lewis Collins, who played Bodie in all 57 of the show's episodes from 1977 and 1983, and who has died aged 67 after suffering from cancer, into a household name. During that time he formed one half of Britain's answer to Starsky and Hutch, a crime-fighting duo called Bodie and Doyle who worked for a shadowy criminal intelligence agency, CI5, headed by Gordon Jackson's strait-laced George Cowley. At its height, The Professionals was watched by 12 million viewers a week,...

In the 70s and early 80s most little boys in the UK wanted to be wisecracking Bodie from The Professionals. One writer remembers being in awe of Collins' brooding action hero

I wanted to be Lewis Collins when I was a boy. I'd kick open the kitchen door with a water pistol in my hand, shouting at my mum to: "Get down on the ground, hands where I can see them!" This must have been quite annoying. She was probably wearing yellow Marigolds, for a start, which wasn't very villainous.

Two decades later, I got to interview Collins. It was only 15 minutes on the phone but I was still in awe. I'd been told he was a bit moody and didn't like talking about The Professionals any more, both of which proved untrue. He was charm personified, only too happy to reminisce. He had a mischievous sense of humour, a...

UK director Neil Marshall ("Centurion") is developing a big screen adaptation of the 1977 British TV series "The Professionals".

"They deal with anti-terrorism, assassinations, political intrigue," said Marshall.

The original crime-action drama series produced by Avengers Mk1 Productions and London Weekend Television aired on the ITV network from 1977 to 1983. 57 episodes were produced, starring actors Martin Shaw, Lewis Collins and Gordon Jackson as agents of 'CI5', a law enforcement department, instructed by the Home Secretary to use any means, dealing with crimes of a serious nature that go beyond the capacity of the police.

Created by Brian Clemens of "The Avengers" TV series, Clemens and Albert Fennell were executive producers, with Laurie Johnson providing theme music. Sidney Hayers produced the first series in 1977, and Raymond Menmuir the remainder.

Led by 'George Cowley', CI5 is known for using unconventional and sometimes illegal methods to bust criminals, assigning agents 'Ray Doyle'...

Neil Marshall has revealed that he is planning to make a film based on the classic British TV series The Professionals. The Centurion director told Empire that his feature will bring the '70s show, about cops William Bodie (Lewis Collins) and Ray Doyle (Martin Shaw) and their exploits for CI5, into the present day. "It's going to be a hard-hitting action movie," he said. "I always loved the show. It has one of the greatest theme tunes ever and a really great central premise. I just thought, 'This is going to make a great movie'." He continued: "They (more)...