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) spoof TV advertisement based on the series, featuring Phil Cornwell playing Doyle and Ray Trickett playing Bodie, testing out its new release, the Nissan Almera. In Series 1, Episode 2 of "Harry Hill's TV Burp", Harry in a sketch parodying "The Bill" is dressed as a Police Officer and Superintendent Okaro and DC Carver find something suspicious about him and search him and find a CI5 ID card. The programme and its characters were repeatedly referenced in the third series of "Ashes to Ashes", which took place in 1983. DCI Gene Hunt tells DI Alex Drake, "We're a team: Bodie