“The Professionals: The Complete Series” (1977-1983)

TV Series

Fifty Seven Episodes

Created by: Brian Clemens

Featuring: Gordon Jackson, Martin Shaw and Lewis Collins

George Cowley: “Anarchy, acts of terror, crimes against the public. To combat it I’ve got special men – experts from the army, the police, from every service – these are The Professionals.”

“The Professionals” is a classic British television series that originally aired from 1977 to 1983, capturing the essence of 70s action and intrigue. Created by Brian Clemens, the show follows the adventures of Bodie and Doyle, two tough and resourceful agents working for CI5 (Criminal Intelligence 5), a fictional government agency tasked with combating organized crime and terrorism.

Set against the backdrop of gritty urban landscapes and high-stakes espionage, “The Professionals” presents a thrilling blend of action, suspense, and character-driven drama. The dynamic duo of Bodie (played by Lewis Collins) and Doyle (played by Martin Shaw) epitomize the archetypal “good cop, bad cop” dynamic, with Bodie as the rugged, no-nonsense ex-mercenary and Doyle as the more cerebral and emotionally-driven counterpart.

What sets “The Professionals” apart is its relentless pace and commitment to adrenaline-pumping action sequences. From high-speed car chases to explosive shootouts, each episode delivers pulse-pounding excitement that keeps viewers on the edge of their seats. The show’s production values are impressive for its time, with well-choreographed stunts and practical effects that still hold up decades later.

However, beyond its action-packed exterior, “The Professionals” also explores complex themes and moral dilemmas. As agents of CI5, Bodie and Doyle often find themselves navigating the murky waters of morality and ethics in their pursuit of justice. They must grapple with difficult decisions and face the consequences of their actions, adding depth and nuance to their characters.

Moreover, the camaraderie between Bodie and Doyle is central to the show’s appeal. Despite their contrasting personalities, they share a deep bond forged through years of dangerous missions and life-threatening situations. Their banter is sharp and witty, providing moments of levity amidst the chaos and danger they face.

In addition to its compelling protagonists, “The Professionals” features a memorable supporting cast, including their no-nonsense boss, George Cowley (played by Gordon Jackson), whose steely resolve and unwavering commitment to duty command respect. The show also introduces a variety of villains and adversaries, ranging from ruthless crime lords to cunning terrorists, each posing a unique challenge for Bodie and Doyle to overcome.

While “The Professionals” undoubtedly reflects the sensibilities of its era, with its gritty realism and tough-guy ethos, it remains a timeless classic that continues to captivate audiences today. Its blend of action, drama, and intrigue, coupled with memorable characters and thrilling storytelling, ensures its enduring popularity among fans of crime dramas and action thrillers alike.

As “The Professionals” progresses through its six seasons, it maintains a consistent level of quality and entertainment, with each episode offering a new and exciting adventure for Bodie and Doyle. The show strikes a fine balance between standalone episodes and overarching storylines, allowing viewers to enjoy individual episodes while also developing the characters and world of CI5.

One of the strengths of the series lies in its ability to tackle relevant social and political issues of the time. While the show is primarily focused on action and suspense, it doesn’t shy away from addressing themes such as corruption, terrorism, and the moral complexities of espionage. This adds a layer of depth to the storytelling, elevating it beyond mere entertainment and giving viewers food for thought.

Another aspect of “The Professionals” that deserves praise is its attention to detail and authenticity. From the meticulously choreographed action sequences to the realistic portrayal of police procedures and counter-terrorism tactics, the show’s commitment to realism enhances its credibility and immerses viewers in its world. This level of authenticity is a testament to the dedication of the cast and crew, who spared no effort in bringing the world of CI5 to life.

Moreover, “The Professionals” benefits from strong writing that keeps the audience engaged and invested in the characters and their journeys. The dialogue is sharp and snappy, with plenty of memorable one-liners and exchanges that have become iconic among fans. The pacing is also commendable, with each episode moving at a brisk pace that never allows for a dull moment.

Of course, at the heart of “The Professionals” are its two leads, Lewis Collins and Martin Shaw, who bring Bodie and Doyle to life with charisma and charisma. Their chemistry is palpable, and their performances anchor the show, providing a solid foundation for the action and drama to unfold. Collins and Shaw imbue their characters with depth and complexity, allowing them to evolve over the course of the series while remaining true to their core identities.

As “The Professionals” progresses, it also delves deeper into the personal lives of Bodie and Doyle, offering glimpses into their backgrounds and motivations. While they are portrayed as tough and resilient agents on the surface, the show explores the emotional toll of their work and the sacrifices they make in service of their country. This humanizes the characters and adds layers of complexity to their personas, allowing viewers to connect with them on a deeper level.

Furthermore, “The Professionals” benefits from its strong supporting cast, including recurring characters such as CI5 agent Ray Doyle’s girlfriend, journalist Laura (played by Joanna Lumley), and various allies and adversaries encountered throughout the series. These characters add depth and dimension to the world of CI5, enriching the storytelling and providing opportunities for memorable guest appearances.

In addition to its compelling characters and storytelling, “The Professionals” also boasts impressive production values that contribute to its overall appeal. The show’s cinematography captures the gritty atmosphere of 1970s London, while its iconic theme music by Laurie Johnson sets the tone for each episode. The attention to detail in set design, costumes, and props further immerses viewers in the world of CI5, enhancing the overall viewing experience.

It’s worth noting that while “The Professionals” may show its age in terms of technology and social norms, its core themes and storytelling remain relevant and engaging to this day. The show’s exploration of issues such as loyalty, honor, and the blurred lines between right and wrong transcends its time period, resonating with audiences across generations.

As the series progresses, it also explores the dynamics within the CI5 organization itself, shedding light on the bureaucracy, politics, and internal conflicts that can arise within such a high-stakes environment. This adds an extra layer of tension and intrigue to the narrative, as Bodie and Doyle must navigate not only external threats but also the challenges posed by their own colleagues and superiors.

Moreover, “The Professionals” doesn’t shy away from depicting the consequences of violence and the toll it takes on its characters. Bodie and Doyle frequently find themselves in life-or-death situations, and the show doesn’t sugarcoat the physical and emotional trauma they endure as a result. This realism adds weight to the action and heightens the stakes, ensuring that the audience remains invested in the characters’ well-being.

Another aspect of the series that deserves praise is its willingness to tackle controversial and sensitive subjects. From terrorism and political corruption to racism and sexism, “The Professionals” isn’t afraid to confront difficult issues head-on, sparking important conversations and challenging viewers to think critically about the world around them. This willingness to engage with social and political themes sets the show apart from other action-oriented dramas of its time and gives it a timeless relevance that still resonates today.

In addition to its substantive content, “The Professionals” also benefits from strong direction and production values that elevate it above typical television fare. The show’s directors and cinematographers make creative use of camera angles, lighting, and editing techniques to enhance the drama and tension of each episode, while the production team’s attention to detail ensures that even the smallest elements contribute to the overall authenticity and immersion of the series.

“The Professionals” stands as a testament to the golden age of British television, showcasing the talents of its cast and crew while delivering gripping entertainment that leaves a lasting impression. Whether you’re a longtime fan or a newcomer to the series, “The Professionals” is a must-watch for anyone craving high-octane thrills and compelling storytelling.

Episodes

Series One

Private Madness, Public Danger: Charles Nesbitt, an expert on chemical warfare, has a plan to contaminate the water supply of London with lethal hallucinogenic drugs. In order to show what he has in mind he intends to have a dummy run outside of the capital, and the Professionals have to head him off.

The Female Factor: The Professionals get involved after Terkoff, a Russian K.G.B. agent, introduces young Sara Seaford “accidentally” to Sir Charles Milvain, a man tipped to be the next Prime Minister, with a view to gaining secret information from him and ultimately destroying him and his government.

Old Dog with New Tricks: Charley Turkel plans to spring his brother Henry from prison by holding the Home Secretary as a hostage – as CI5 discover when they arrest a small-time hood who has robbed Tutkel’s armoury. He is to be snatched by bogus officers when he visits a police station for an award ceremony but Cowley, despite having a bullet in his leg, takes the place of the intended victim with Bodie as his bodyguard and thwarts the plan.

Killer with a Long Arm: Hitman Georgi smuggles in a long-range gun from Athens and kills a traffic cop who stops him for speeding. Using a contact in the Greek community, Doyle and Bodie begin to track him down, along with the political group who have engaged him and have held a family hostage in a high-rise flat as they prepare to train the gun on a royal visitor at the Wimbledon tennis competition.

Heroes: American senator John Jerry Patterson is assassinated in daylight in bogus roadworks in full view of other motorists. To flush out the killers Cowley prepares a newspaper story claiming that their faces have been recognised but the witnesses’ identities are erroneously disclosed and two are murdered. Working with loose cannon operative Tommy, Bodie and Doyle must protect the others and identify the gang, in which they are helped by a witness who offers himself as bait.

Where the Jungle Ends: A group of mercenaries dressed as soldiers rob a bank, escaping by plane from which they parachute out. It is a demonstration to impress smooth villain Simon Sinclair whom they coerce into employing them on another job. For Bodie their capture is more than a job for he knows them from his own mercenary days and their leader, Krivas, killed his girlfriend. Acting on information from captured gang member Benny, Cowley ‘suspends’ Doyle and Bodie to thwart the raid and get Krivas in their own way.

Close Quarters: On leave with a hand injury, Bodie is in the country with his girlfriend Julia when they run across the Meyer-Helmut terrorist group. Bodie captures a gang member but he and Julia are chased by the gang and take refuge in a vicarage, where the gang kill the vicar. It is down to Cowley and Doyle, travelling blind, to locate their colleague before there are any more casualties.

Everest Was Also Conquered: The death bed confession of a former MI6 head reveals that Suzie Carter, key witness in a major corruption trial a couple of decades earlier, did not commit suicide by jumping out of a window as imagined but was pushed – by the police officers who were supposed to protect her. The case is re-opened but the officers themselves are now being targeted by an assassin. Bodie and Doyle, with new young colleague Tony, must find out who is ordering the hits and why.

When the Heat Cools Off: Six years previously Doyle was a policeman at London’s Docklands and he was involved in a shoot-out in which there were fatalities. Bill Haydon was arrested and charged and sent to prison. Now his daughter Jill has come to see Doyle, claiming that she has fresh evidence to exonerate her father and asks that the case be re-opened. Doyle gets close to her.

Stake Out: CI5 agent Fraser, shadowing a drugs gang based in a bowling alley, stumbles on ‘something bigger’ but is killed before he can explain to Cowley. Bodie and Doyle are sent to stake out the bowl, where they find a dying man whose last word is “Swallows”. He has been poisoned with plutonium by the Swallows Bowling Club, the cover for a disgruntled band of white supremacists who aim to blow London up with a bomb planted in the bowling alley. CI5 must locate it.

Long Shot: The CI5 team is charged with the protection of former American Secretary of state Dr. Harbinger at a peace conference and Cowley’s quick thinking saves him from being shot by Middle Eastern hit-man Ramos. However the real target is Cowley himself and Ramos kidnaps a millionaire’s daughter to force him to help him reach Cowley. Doyle and Bodie have to stop him.

Look After Annie: Annie Irvine, charismatic evangelist and founder of the left-wing Workers-Christian Alliance, arrives back in England having survived an assassination attempt in Chicago and Cowley, an old flame of hers, charges Doyle and Bodie to protect her. They are highly amused to think of their boss as having had a love life. They detain a right-wing opponent of the Alliance but the real danger comes from Annie’s managers, who seek to capitalize on her ‘martyrdom’. Annie is saved but things will never be the same between her and her ‘Georgie’.

Klansmen: The Empire Society, a white supremacist group run by a man called Hulton, is terrorising blacks and trying to forcibly evict them. Cowley and Doyle are shocked at Bodie’s apparent colour prejudice when he meets a mixed race married couple but after Bodie is hospitalised Doyle goes undercover and joins the Empire Society, learning that a property developer called Miller is using the group to evict black tenants. However, the biggest shock comes when Miller’s identity is revealed, though Bodie, grateful to black hospital staff for pulling him through, learns to overcome his prejudice.

Series Two

Hunter/Hunted: Whilst Doyle is on a date with Kathie Mason his flat is robbed and a powerful laser gun which he was given to test is stolen. After an attempt to kill him, he and Bodie make inquiries as to who would have stolen the gun and Maurice, one of their informants, is shot dead with it. Another colleague is taken prisoner as bait to flush Doyle out in the open by the thief, Preston, a disgraced ex-cop sent to prison on Doyle’s evidence and now after revenge. But who knew Doyle’s routine that well that he – or she – was able to tell Preston about the gun?

The Rack: After informant ‘Nosey’ Parker has tipped them off about the drug-dealing habits of boxer-turned-gangster John Coogan, CI5 interrogate Coogan’s younger brother, Paul,who dies, seemingly after Doyle has hit him. Coogan gets his powerful lawyer to instigate a committee to determine whether or not CI5 should be disbanded but Cowley’s own investigations throw light on the true cause of Paul’s death as well as exposing Coogan’s violent activities and confirming the need for the department’s continued existence.

First Night: Israeli minister Asher Biebermann is kidnapped from outside the Festival Hall by two men known as Frank and John, whilst under police protection. He is taken to a house in a residential area where he chained to the bed. Acting on a tip-off, CI5 discover a photograph and a cassette tape in a telephone box and, using such information as they offer, locate the house, planning to break in from next door and rescue Biebermann.

Man Without a Past: When a bomb goes off in a restaurant where he is eating, causing some fatalities, Bodie assumes that he was the intended victim. In fact the real target is a seemingly inoffensive accountant who actually has been given a new identity after giving evidence against a gang of American mobsters. The chase is on as to who will reach him first – the villains, the F.B.I or Bodie, with a puzzled Doyle in tow.

In the Public Interest: Chief Constable Green operates a zero tolerance policing system bordering on fascist dictatorship. When a gay youth counselling centre is attacked by masked men one of the staff suspects the police are behind it and goes to see Cowley. Bodie and Doyle themselves become victimized after being charged with a minor traffic offence. However Green and corrupt inspector Chives are about to find out that they have picked on the wrong people – especially as Doyle has photographic evidence of police corruption.

Rogue: Barry Martin was a founder-member of CI5 with Cowley and trains Bodie and Doyle in unarmed combat, but he has turned ‘rogue’ for money, delivering a witness who was to be kept under wraps for an upcoming drugs trial to his killers. He shoots another man dead and wounds Cowley, who ends up in hospital. Having tumbled to his plan, the lads pursue Martin to an underground car park where he eludes them, leading to a final shoot-out.

Not a Very Civil Civil Servant: The Temple-Blake building firm stands trial for corruption following dishonest awarding of contracts by local councillor Webb. Its nervous accountant is murdered to stop him confessing all, and jury members bullied into returning a not guilty verdict. Cowley is not happy, and when Bodie and Doyle meet an undercover fraud officer who posed as a workman to expose the company’s use of sub-standard materials and got beaten up, CI5 determines to bring down all concerned.

A Stirring of Dust: Years earlier spy Thomas Darby sold out and defected to the Russians. Now he has returned to England. Cowley is anxious to locate him and find out from him the names of other double agents. Men with guns are also after Darby – to silence him before he can pass on any information.

Blind Run: Bodie and Doyle are assigned a routine bodyguard operation for a ‘Mr. X’, Middle Eastern diplomat Hanish, but no sooner have they picked him up than they are pursued by gunmen who seem to know every move on his itinerary, rendering two safe houses anything but safe and forcing a final showdown on a houseboat.

Fall Girl: Bodie is delighted to re-encounter old flame Marikka Schuman, an East German film star, with whom he spends an idyllic time in his flat. However he is unaware that Marikka’s husband and henchman Willis have set him up to take the rap for an assassination, causing him to go on the run from his CI5 colleagues. Although he is eventually cleared there is no happy ending for him with Marikka.

Season Three

The Purging of CI5: After a bomb goes off in the CI5 building and an operative is killed, Cowley gets a sinister phone call to say there will be more deaths, which there are, including an attempt to murder Bodie. Through an informant a man named Wakeman is incriminated – but Cowley swears that he killed him years earlier. Clearly an old associate of Wakeman is out for revenge, leading Cowley and the boys to a caravan primed with explosives.

Backtrack: Cat burglar Sammy Layden gets in way out of his depth when he stumbles upon a smuggling ring connected to the Arab Embassy, for which he pays with his life. Bodie and Doyle become burglars, ‘backtracking’ on Sammy’s movements to discover exactly what he found that was so deadly, whilst Doyle has to cope with the attentions of Marge Harper.

Stopover: Former CI5 operative Meredith was presumed dead but re-surfaces, apparently working for the Russians. A proposed exchange leads Cowley to go alone to a deserted aerodrome to meet the Russian Kodai and furnish him with a British passport and money. However, it is a trap and Cowley is shot, seemingly fatally.

Dead Reckoning: Stefan Batak, a Bulgarian who has been spying for Britain, is released in an exchange of agents and C15 are charged with his safety as well as establishing whether his information is genuine. However, he is killed by a poison introduced into his blood stream and the Professionals must trace his killers as well as working out what part his daughter, concert pianist Anna, may have had in the death – if indeed she is his daughter.

The Madness of Mickey Hamilton: Ex-soldier Mickey Hamilton shoots and kills doctors in the local hospital, believing them to be responsible for the death of his wife and for the brain damage of his little girl, who is being cared for by nuns at a convent. The Professionals track him down by marrying up hospital and army records and then must race to prevent him from causing carnage at an international medical conference which is being held at Wembley.

A Hiding to Nothing: Palestinian leader Khadi is due in London for important and secret peace talks but his arrival has been leaked and a woman terrorist is shot whilst filming the talks’ rehearsal. CI5 link up with ministerial secretary Frances Cottingham, who innocently leaked news of Khadi’s visit to her boyfriend, who is not whom he says. Cowley gets her to give him false information but is he really the assassin?

Runner: A gun shop is raided but the guns are junked. It is part of a plot by a man named Duffy, a member of the political terrorist group the Organization to discredit the main body of the group, who have now formed a truce with CI5. He is also out for revenge on Doyle, who killed his brother, and lures him into a trap, as well as planting a bomb in a public car park.

Servant of Two Masters: Cowley appears to have stolen two canisters of a new nerve gas and is recorded trying to sell them to German Otto Hahn. Bodie and Doyle are asked to keep a surveillance on him though he asks them to shadow an Arab called Malik, which they suspect is purely to keep them off his trail. They trace him to a country mansion, where they are caught by Hahn’s men but Cowley claims not to know them. Is he really guilty of treason or has he devised a plan to catch the real traitor?

Season Four

The Acorn Syndrome: After two hired guns have been shot following a hostage situation CI5 discovers that they rang the Apex arms factory and that Apex employee John Copeland is being blackmailed into copying plans for a new tank and handing them over to a group of East German agents. The Professionals stalk the gang to a remote farmhouse where the girl is being held in readiness for a shoot-out.

Wild Justice: Cowley and Doyle become perturbed when Bodie is obsessed with a motor cycle gang led by King Billy to the extent that his training is starting to suffer and Cowley refers him to a lady psychiatrist. However, there is a method in his madness as the gang is responsible for the death of one of his friends and he is after revenge.

Fugitive: C15 are pursuing a German terrorist cell who, having thrown a CIA agent off a balcony, are planning a new operation. Doyle captures a female member but Bodie, posing as an arms merchant, has his cover blown and is taken hostage by the gang to exchange with her. As the two groups meet at the air-field for the trade-off, the gang tie fifteen pounds of explosives to him.

Involvement: With Bodie having shot a suspected drug smuggler outside the flat of witness Ann Holly to save Doyle, Ray consoles her, and they become lovers, intending to marry. An informer tells Doyle and Bodie that ‘the Christmas Man’ is flying in a consignment of illegal drugs and, unfortunately for Doyle, it seems likely the ‘Christmas Man’ is Ann’s father, who is put under surveillance. An enraged Doyle resigns. Will his indignant behaviour put the operation at risk and is Ann only an innocent bystander?

Need to Know: Andy Drake, a protege of Cowley, is arrested on suspicion of spying for the Chinese. Anxious to find out about Chinese security the K.G.B. plan to spring Drake whilst he is in transit from prison to court. Anticipating this, Cowley also intends to snatch him, but he has an ulterior motive – to catch the C15 mole who is passing on information to the Russians.

Take Away: Hampered by two cocky Drugs Squad officers, Doyle teams up with Hong Kong cop Esther, who is in London trailing a Triad gang supplying drugs to U.S. army personnel in Germany, a racket supported by certain East Germans who want to destroy Anglo-American relations. Esther gets a lead in a Chinese restaurant threatened by the Triad whilst Bodie goes undercover as a down-and-out in a squat where two young junkies have died. The two halves of the operation meet for a shoot-out in a motel, with a less than satisfactory result.

Black Out: Amnesiac Gerda collapses in a church before giving Cowley a garbled message about an attack on a diplomatic meeting the next day. After the ambulance taking her to hospital is attacked she leads Doyle and Bodie to a Kentish village where she regains her memory, telling them that she is a nanny and that her employers were abducted by gunmen who plan to hi-jack the meeting. CI5 have to locate the family and their captors before the latter disrupt the talks the following day.

Blood Sports: Francisco Cabreras, teenage son of the president of the South American country of San Ibrez, is shot dead by members of a terrorist group opposed to his father whilst he is playing polo. Whilst CI5 get on the killers’ trail after an eye-witness identifies their car, Doyle discovers that Anita, Francisco’s feisty step-sister, is unknowingly dating one of the terrorists. She agrees to help in his capture before his gang claim another victim on a golf course.

Slush Fund: The Fohn Fighter is a war-plane manufactured in Eastern Europe but it is a death trap and several pilots have been killed whilst flying it. A British reporter discovers this fact and aims to leak the story to the press but has a hitman, Van Neikerk, in pursuit. It is down to the Professionals to ensure that the killer does not get his prey and the story is published.

The Gun: Drug dealer Gary shoots an addict and discards his gun. Fourteen-year old schoolboy Tony picks it up and accidentally wounds a friend. Seeking to destroy the evidence Gary abducts Tony from the school where Bodie’s girlfriend Inger teaches and where Tony has hidden the gun in some stage props. Gary’s heavy associates capture both lads and CI5 give chase.

Hijack: Foreign diplomat Josef Merhart tips off villain Harry Walters that his embassy transports silver bullion to Tilbury docks and Walters arranges to have it hi-jacked. Mandy, the girl who introduced the two men, goes into hiding on Josef’s advice but, as her flatmate Debbie is Doyle’s girlfriend, CI5 are in a position to be suspicious and make the connection. Walters sends a gunman to kill Mandy so Doyle and Bodie must get to her first.

Mixed Doubles: International hitman Rio arrives in London to arrange the assassination of Middle Eastern president Parsali, due to sign a vital peace treaty. Bodie and Doyle are put through rigorous training to act as Parsali’s bodyguards, coincidentally crossing paths with the two English lads hired to do the killing and whose aspirations are seen to be similar to their own.

Weekend in the Country: Following a botched robbery, wounded gunman Albert Case and two of his gang take Doyle, Bodie and their girlfriends captive in an isolated farmhouse along with one of the girls’ family. Fortunately Cowley’s customary impatience with the pair and their elusiveness comes to the rescue.

Kickback: Working undercover as supposed hitmen out to fake the assassination of a government official, Bodie and Doyle’s new partner turns out to be Jimmy Keller, who once saved Bodie’s life when they were in the S.A.S. However, Bodie is concerned that Keller is in too deep with the gang of Italian terrorists whom they are shadowing. Is Keller just a maverick mercenary out to make money from both sides or a genuine danger to CI5?

It’s Only a Beautiful Picture…: Colonel Sangster and his gang are smuggling art treasures and industrial secrets out of the country and selling them on to foreign powers. Tibbs, Sangster’s pilot, uses a complicated method of getting the crates with the illegal cargo past customs by taking them out of the country having misdeclared them on paper-work and, having been recalled to rectify the mistake, substituting an innocent cargo which is passed by Customs. Doyle goes undercover to infiltrate the gang.

Season Five

Foxhole on the Roof: Barker, a deranged, embittered old lag and his young accomplice Stacey – whom he disguises as a female hostage – dig in on a warehouse roof, pointing their machine-gun at a hospital ward and threatening to kill the patients unless they are given a million pounds. Bodie and ace climber Murphy scale a factory chimney to get height on them but almost scupper the operation. Doyle, however, after a visit to Stacey’s girlfriend, has a better plan.

Operation Susie: When a South American student, an apparent cocaine trafficker, is shot dead, Cowley takes his sister, Diana, into protective custody to discover who is organizing the racket. It turns out that Diana is working to destroy the ring and has powerful enemies in her government back home and a corrupt civil servant working with her country’s ambassador. Bodie and Doyle must protect her in what is known as Operation Susie, a top secret operation.

You’ll Be All Right: Cowley is made an unusual proposition by Jack Stone, a notorious villain and hard man. Stone will cooperate with the law and give himself up in return for protection for his wife Chrissie and their children. His son Nick is the victim of a hit-and-run outside his school and it is apparent that Stone is the target of a vendetta. CI5’s job is to find out who is behind it and why.

Lawson’s Last Stand: Mentally unstable Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Lawson escapes from an army psychiatric hospital. He is in possession of vital NATO secrets regarding the world’s most toxic gas and it is vital he be located. Has he been abducted by Russian agents or is he merely on a deranged campaign of his own to restore ‘Britishness’ to his country? Bodie and Doyle are sent to find him – with explosive results.

Discovered in a Graveyard: Doyle is shot in his flat by an intruder and Cowley believes the connection lies with a terrorist group, two of whose members were blown up following a car chase by CI5. Whilst Doyle lies in a coma dreaming of surreal graveyard conversations with his boss, Cowley and Bodie piece together the events of the last few days to identify the person who pulled the trigger and prevent them from doing it again.

Spy Probe: Acting independently of each other Doyle and Bodie pose as hitmen to infiltrate a mysterious group of assassins whose targets are all retired government officials. Bodie’s hit, Liz Walsh, an old colleague of Cowley, colludes in her supposed death for the publicity and helps Cowley work out who could possibly want to get rid of a group of apparently insignificant people. MI6 interference also hampers the operation until Liz exposes a possible traitor.

Cry Wolf: Charity worker Susan Grant is being terrorized by a masked stalker and, whilst the police are skeptical of her story, Cowley, who knew her father, believes her. Bodie is assigned to protect her and kills an intruder who breaks into her flat. Suspicion falls on her elderly work colleague Henry, an inveterate human rights campaigner, who keeps pictures of Susan in his flat. But what are his motives and how is he connected to the sinister gang who clearly want to hurt Susan?

The Untouchables: Cowley forms a plan to reel in Rahad, an Arab diplomat and suspected assassin. Bodie joins a card school, losing heavily, and Rahad offers to pay his debts on the condition that Bodie gives him secret information about CI5. Doyle employs Anna, a sophisticated, intelligent escort, to spy on Rahad. When Rahad is led to believe that Anna is a danger to him and is photographed paying someone he erroneously believes to be a hit-man to kill her, the trap is sprung.

The Ojuka Situation: To Cowley’s annoyance, CI5 are to protect Colonel Ojuka, a former head of an African country who is to attend a conference with a view to regaining power. Bodie and Doyle foil two assassination attempts, but Ojuka honestly seems to have no idea who was behind them. Cowley suspects a government official with business interests in Africa, but someone closer to Ojuka also has a grievance.

A Man Called Quinn: Former agent Quinn escapes from Repton mental hospital and, after renting a room which he re-arranges to look like a cell, retrieves his gun from the woods. He has recalled the days when he was captured and brain-washed by the KGB into killing four of his colleagues. He shoots two of them, in one case fatally, before pursuing his next target – Cowley, who escapes protective custody to seek out Quinn and do a deal with him.

No Stone: A group of young middle-class drop-outs, led by the ferocious and P.L.O.-trained Ulrike Herzl, declares war on the legal system, murdering members of the judiciary. One of their number, Jimmy Kilpin, is caught, and when he offers to reveal their arms dump, the gang kills him and a CI5 operative. Bodie and Doyle capture Herzl and have to trick her into disclosing the whereabouts of a bomb designed to blow up a court-house.