The Professionals (TV series) The Professionals (TV series) The Professionals is a British crime-action television drama series produced by Avengers Mark1 Productions for London Weekend Television (LWT) that aired on the ITV network from 1977 to 1983. In all, 57 episodes were produced, filmed between 1977 and 1981. It starred Martin Shaw, Lewis Collins and Gordon Jackson as agents of the fictional "CI5" (Criminal Intelligence 5, alluding to the real life MI5). "The Professionals" was created by Brian Clemens, who had been one of the driving forces behind "The Avengers". The show was originally to have been called "The A-Squad". Clemens and Albert Fennell
The Professionals (TV series) replacement, while Raymond Menmuir produced "Special Squad" for Australia's Network Ten in the mid-1980s, following "The Professionals"<nowiki>'</nowiki> format. A revival series, "" was produced for Sky in the late 1990s and starred Edward Woodward, but it was not a success. The BBC introduced "Spender" in the early 1990s, which featured several "Professionals" influenced themes. The BBC television series Spooks that was broadcast in 2002 also had a fact action style inspired by The Professionals. "" was a British crime drama that aired on the Sky 1 satellite channel from 19 September to 19 December 1999. An updating of the original