Lewis Collins stylish pop art graphic illustration, available in 3 sizes and 26 colour options.

With a natural swagger and easy charisma, at one point Collins was widely tipped to replace Roger Moore as Bond. It does seem that the tonal shift of “For Your Eyes Only” was written with Lewis in mind, but Collins was not cast as the spy and instead went on to film “Who Dares Wins”, a successful action film which co-starred Edward Woodward.

Famous as William Bodie in “The Professionals”, it seems appropriate that Lewis Collins’ first and last credits were in police dramas.

Collins’ first appearance was in “Z Cars” in 1974 and his final acting role was in “The Bill” in 2002, both long-running British police serials. Collins also played a Police Constable in “Crown Court”.

Before “The New Avengers”, Collins worked with Joanna Lumley in “The Cuckoo Waltz”, the 1970s sitcom in which he played a lodger.

In 1988, Collins worked with Michael Caine in “Jack the Ripper” as another policeman, Sergeant Godley, and later appeared in a series of “Cluedo”, but acting work didn’t come easy for some reason.

A reboot in 1997 called “CI5:The New Professionals” almost cast Lewis as the head of the organisation, a role similar to Gordon Jackson’s George Cowley, but the part eventually went to Edward Woodward.

Retiring from acting, Lewis moved to America but returned to England before his passing in 2013.

An underused actor whose innate talent never seemed to escape the shadow of Bodie, the ongoing popularity and success of “The Professionals” is a testament to the actor and his powerful yet natural screen partnership with Martin Shaw.

The Professionals

Hot on the heels of “The New Avengers”, which starred Patrick Macnee and Joanna Lumley, the same creative and production team of Brian Clemens and Albert Fennell created “The Professionals”.

“The Professionals” had a fictional CI5 department that answered only to itself, and possibly the Home Secretary, and would use any means necessary to foil criminal activity. Headed by Gordon Jackson as George Cowley, CI5, an amalgam of acronyms CID and MI5, recruited exceptional candidates including the department’s main exponents Bodie & Doyle.

Played by Lewis Collins and Martin Shaw, their occasionally abrasive relationship, whilst both looking out for each other, hooked viewers along with the action sequences.

First paired with Martin Shaw in “The New Avengers” episode “Obsession”, the spiky chemistry between the two actors led to their casting as Bodie & Doyle in “The Professionals”.

Incidentally, elements of the plot of “Obsession” were later recycled in “The Professionals” episode “Close Quarters”.

“The Professionals” has one of TV’s most memorable theme tunes by Laurie Johnson who also wrote the themes for “The Avengers“, “Jason King” with Peter Wyngarde, and “The New Avengers” with Joanna Lumley.

Art Prints

Please note the orange in the Purple & Orange option is a brighter, almost neon, shade than the softer orange of the Copper colour option.

Available in A4, A3, and A2 sizes to fit standard-size picture frames. Please note that black frame is not included – for a guide on choosing a frame size take a look here.

This illustrated print is part of the 1970s Cops collection of stylish pop art prints, exclusively by Art & Hue, inspired by 1970s police detectives and features Art & Hue’s signature halftone style (halftone is an age-old technique that uses dots to make up the printed image, similar to newspapers or comic books) along with graphic blocks of colour.

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