CI5: The New Professionals

Lore & Background

David Wickes, an episode director for the original series, approached original series creator Brian Clemens in the early 1990s after realising how perpetually popular the original series remained through repeats and video sales. Having since formed his own production company, David Wickes Television, and having already produced several lucrative and award-winning productions, such as Jack The Ripper (co-starring The Professionals actor Lewis Collins), Wickes spent the 1990s devising the production of an updated show, based on Clemens' original intentions. Clemens intended for the original series to be an 'ensemble' group, not just focusing on the three main characters. The new show was intended to return to this intended ideal, with the new 4.5 (originally Doyle) and 3.7 (Bodie) as part of a team effort.

Of the original series' stars, Gordon Jackson died in 1990 and allegedly, though not verified, Wickes 'never even thought' of approaching Martin Shaw. Since some of the co-financing for the show was derived from his association with American TV networks, he did, however, approach Lewis Collins to see if he would reprise his role of Bodie as the Controller of CI5. Collins declined the role, and so instead Edward Woodward, famous for his roles in Callan and The Equalizer, was cast as CI5 Head Harry Malone. Actors Colin Wells and Kal Weber became Sam Curtis and Chris Keel respectively, whilst Lexa Doig was cast Tina Backus. Though the main 'trio' along with Harry Malone carried the show, several other secondary roles such as Corrigan, Mills, Richards and Spencer were cast to ensure Clemens' original ideal was adhered to.

Reader's Guide

CI5: The New Professionals is significant as a late-1990s attempt to revive a beloved British television franchise, but it is remembered largely for its failure. Despite considerable pre-publicity from Sky, viewer response was extremely poor, with low production values and perceived low-quality acting being widely mocked. Inevitable comparisons to the original series were uniformly negative, and the series was not a success in the ratings. The series was repeated on Sky One in December 2000, but was not repeated on any other satellite television channel until 2012. Its legacy is that of a cautionary tale about reviving classic properties without capturing the original's appeal. However, the series found unexpected popularity in Europe, selling to over fifty countries and being hugely popular there, with its first known broadcast in Sweden on 3 September 1998, over a year before its UK debut. The series eventually received DVD releases in Region 4 (2012), Region 1 (2014), and Region 2 (2016), the latter including bonus features. In 2020, the Roku channel made the series available for free.

Did You Know?

• The series first broadcast in Sweden on 3 September 1998, more than a year before its UK debut on Sky One.
• Producer David Wickes told The Daily Mail he would 'sooner lock it away in a vault than hand it over to ITV for next to nothing' after ITV attempted to secure a cheaper deal.
• The series was shown three times consecutively in Sweden due to its popularity.
• When Men & Movies broadcast the series in 2012, whole gun battles were completely removed, with up to four minutes of extra footage cut out beyond what Sky had already removed.