The Professionals (TV series) playing a one-dimensional character in a one-dimensional show. Several years after the series ended London Weekend Television was contractually obliged to re-negotiate repeat fees with the lead actors. Unwilling to accede to Martin Shaw's demands, plans for further repeat screenings on the UK's ITV network had to be withdrawn, leading to Lewis Collins expressing his anger towards Shaw in an interview for the British press. However, Shaw eventually agreed to UK satellite screenings, although according to a "Radio Times" interview only after being discreetly made aware that Gordon Jackson's widow, actress Rona Anderson (who guested in "Cry Wolf"), was suffering
The Professionals (TV series) popular TV comedy series "The Two Ronnies", Ronnie Corbett played a bungling version of Martin Shaw's Doyle in a sketch called "Tinker Tailor Smiley Doyle" (Series 11; broadcast February 1985 - March 1985). This was a joint send-up of "The Professionals" and the "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" TV drama, with Ronnie Barker playing George Smiley along the lines of Alec Guinness' portrayal in "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy". Corbett's Doyle provides the brawn to the brains of Barker's Smiley and actually comes out the worse. The sketch guest-starred Frank Williams from "Dad's Army". In 1984 some of the team behind "The