I was saddened today to learn of the death of Lewis Collins, who lost his five year battle with cancer, aged 67.
He will forever be remembered for the role of Bodie that he played in the iconic The Professionals in the 70’s and 80’s.
Collins was the ladies’ man that all the girls fancied, and the tough guy that all the boys wanted to be. Alongside Martin Shaw, Bodie and Doyle were our very own Starsky and Hutch, complete with cool cars. They worked under the dour Cowley-the head of CI5.
I remember having a couple of those cars as a kid, along with every Christmas annual. I even loved the theme tune too. I attained many a bruise rolling over the dining table that doubled as a car bonnet, taking cover behind the kitchen door. It was all in a day’s work for a CI5 operative. Once the dishes had been washed.
Collins once auditioned to be James Bond, and starred in the 1982 film Who Dares Wins, but never really escaped the character that he brought to life in the cult tv series.
With his death I have lost yet another figure from my childhood. A marker along the way.
R.I.P Bodie. Thanks for the memories.
City Jackdaw 
I’m not familiar with that show, but I”m always on the lookout for a show featuring a ladies’ man. 🙂 How sad though about his death. So many people have fallen to that disease.:-(
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It was a (popular) very British show in the late seventies and early eighties. We (I) get very nostalgic about the memories carried from childhood.
And cancer-yes, it is everywhere 😦
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Yes, sad loss Jackdaw. I was always more a Starsky and Hutch boy, with the former my hero. Probably because he was the biggest goof out of the four. I probably turned out most like him too!
I was more interested in California than Britain too; sunshine and fun; which carried on into my youth and early adulthood cultural (not sport!) interests through counter-culture literature and 80s LA metal music.
Quite ironic that Collins ended up there, and not me!!
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Perhaps, in an alternative reality……
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