Interview with Brian Clemens on the making of 'The Professionals', Huffington Post (UK edition), 27 March 2014

The terrorist take over the American embassy in London and ask impossible demands of the government. His portrayal of a hard-man in The Professionals earned him the role of Captain Peter Skellen in the film 'Who Dares Wins.' The first scenes were shot in Portobello Road market in January 1982. The concert, speech and subsequent fight were staged at the Union Chapel in Islington, London. Skellen's house and the hostage taking was shot in Kynance Mews in South Kensington. [15]At the start of the 1990s, he appeared in the role of "Colonel Mustard" in the British television drama/gameshow Cluedo (1991–92), however acting roles became sparser as the decade progressed. [28] In the early 1990s, seeking to extend his career options in drama to work beyond acting he attended courses in screenwriting and direction at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television in Los Angeles, California, US, [29] but this led to no subsequent professional employment. In the mid-1990s he moved his family to Los Angeles, where he was residing part-time, while he returned to England intermittently for the occasional provincial theatre tour and minor acting roles in television productions.

We the former "LCFC Team" would like to send our very best wishes to all Lew's fans today, where ever you are in the world. And we send love and best wishes to Michelle, Oliver, Elliot and Cameron for letting us share our very special memories of our time with Lew. Very much missed by us all. Love Ruth, Debbie, Chris and Deb. xx Roy Budd and Jerry & Marc Donahue – Commando (Who Dares Wins) Bande Originale du Film (1983, Vinyl)". Discogs. 11 August 1983. Having been accepted for training in acting by the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, which he attended between 1968 and 1971, [6] [13] he drew the notice of his fellow students for an "electrifying" performance in the lead role of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. [14] Theatre career [ edit ] The script was apparently written in conjunction with a novel by James Follett, although oddly enough the book was not called Who Dares Wins but The Tiptoe Boys. The story was the work of George Markstein, who was mostly a writer and script editor on television thriller series, but had also worked on the screenplays for the films Robbery (1967) and The Odessa File (1974). In the 1980s, he auditioned for the role of 007 with Eon Productions, the producers of the James Bond cinema franchise, to succeed Roger Moore, but the audition with its producer Cubby Broccoli did not go well [23] and he was rejected as being "too aggressive". [6] Collins regarded this failure in retrospect as the key missed opportunity of his acting career. [1] [25] In 1982 he moved into cinema starring in the role of a British Army officer confronting terrorists in the film Who Dares Wins.Of course, there are shady foreigners behind all of this, in the person of Middle Easterner Malek (Aharon Ipale), who arrives in London with huge wads of cash to spend on "worthy causes", which are in fact various pseudo-revolutionary organisations and terrorist fronts. According to the DVD commentary, the film was made with the help of the 22 SAS Regiment at Hereford, although their commanding officer, Peter de la Billière, had initially refused to help in a pre-production meeting with Euan Lloyd. Director Ian Sharp, who was hired due to Lloyd's liking of his direction in The Professionals, was invited to SAS headquarters at Stirling Lines where he met some of the troops who assaulted the Iranian embassy. With the cooperation of the SAS achieved, production moved ahead swiftly. The group overtakes the Residence and holds the persons inside hostage. Included in the hostages are the American Secretary of State (Richard Widmark) and a high ranking American General, Ira Potter (Robert Webber). Outside, Commander Powell (Edward Woodward) and SAS commander Col. Hadley (Tony Doyle) prepare to rescue the hostages. Negotiations between Powell and Frankie are initiated.

Lewis Collins never did get the role of James Bond. He thought he was ideal for it and so did parts of the British press. But Bond producer Cubby Broccoli gave him short shrift, thinking him "too aggressive". On the first point, Who Dares Wins doesn't succeed at all. You have to overlook some major implausibilities and ropey bits of acting and dialogue, although the film is never boring exactly. Where to start? My name is Ruth and I was a member of the team from 1978-1982, and must say that I loved every minute of it. Such very happy fun times. People I met through Lew and places we the team went. You will read memories from the four of us that have stayed good friends still to this very day.Who Dares Wins was panned by some critics as being right-wing. Sight & Sound described the film as "hawkish". [24] Derek Malcolm in The Guardian called the film "truly dreadful". [25] Lloyd's investors were willing to go with a lesser name actor as star. The producer considered a number of options before going with Lewis Collins, then best known for The Professionals. [12] Collins trained intensively for the part. [13] Given its dubious script and variable performances, Who Dares Wins was inevitably given a rough ride by the critics on its release. Understandably, it also went down badly with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, who protested at the film's premiere. It did have its fans, though, including U.S. President Ronald Reagan and his Secretary of State Alexander Haig, who praised the film. Skellen attempts to work his way into the group's inner circle and find out what the target of their operation is. But Frankie's colleague Rod doesn't trust him and, while he's roped into the operation at the last minute as an adviser, his wife and child are taken hostage to make sure he plays along. After The Professionals concluded, Collins went on to play several relatively minor TV roles – including a sheriff of Nottingham in Robin of Sherwood (1986), and Colonel Mustard in six episodes of a British TV game-show adaptation of Cluedo (1991-92). But he was never able to match his success in The Professionals and in later years lived quietly with his family in Los Angeles.