Actor Lewis Collins best known for his portrayal of tough guy Bodie in the popular ITV series The Professionals died at the age of 67 following a five year battle with cancer.

Collins was born in Cheshire and started his early working as an apprentice hairdresser at the prestigious Andre Bernard salon in Liverpool. He changed his career path and after some stage experience in rep he trained as an actor at LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art) After a few small roles in TV his first break came in a Granada Television sitcom called The Cuckoo Waltz opposite actress Diane Keen from 1975 to 1977. But his major break-through was when he was offered the part of hard man William Bodie alongside partner Ray Doyle (played by Martin Shaw) in The Professionals.

The show was created by Brian Clemens who had previously had success with the TV cult classic The Avengers. Bodie and Doyle became a well known double act to the general public and the show was extremely popular during its 57 episodes running from 1977 to 1982. There was an instant chemistry between Collins and Shaw which transferred well to the TV screen. Bodie and Doyle worked for a fictional law enforcement department known as CI5 which was headed up by their boss Cowley (Gordon Jackson) and unlike the regular police officers of the day these guys were equip with guns and were trained in combat (Lewis Collins actually held a black belt in Ju-Jitsu.) and we regularly watched them beat up the bad guys after chasing them through the streets of London in their Ford Capri 3.0S. The Professionals is currently being repeated on ITV4.

After the series finished Collins turned his attention to breaking into the film world. Unfortunately he only had the one hit with the action film ‘Who Dares Wins’ (1982) in which he played Captain Peter Skellen and SAS officer now working undercover to break a terrorist organisation. The film was inspired by the storming of the Iranian Embassy siege in London by the SAS back in 1980.

The film had some mixed reviews but was considered a good British action movie and it gave Collins the opportunity to work alongside Edward Woodward, Judy Davis and Hollywood legend Richard Widmark.

Also in 1982 Collins auditioned for the part of James Bond but Cubby Broccoli thought he came over too aggressive for the character of Bond. (Daniel Craig?) After playing various TV and stage roles Collins moved to Los Angeles with his wife and three sons and set up a computer company. It was in California that Lewis Collins died peacefully.