During one of his visits to Stirling Lines, Sharp had met a Fijian trooper who had a mishap during the Iranian embassy assault. The trooper told how he got caught up in his descent and his uniform caught fire due to the explosives used for their forced entry. Inspired by this, Sharp had a similar scene inserted.

If I had any quibbles with the movie, it was in its depiction of the German GSG-9 and American Army Ranger character. These two arrive at the Regiment's base in Hereford on exchange training duty. First of all, the United States would not send a Ranger for CT training. To be fair, the scriptwriters probably did not know of the existence of Delta Force, which had just come to public attention around that time. Of course, both officers bumble through their initial task. It's hard to believe that West Germany's elite GSG-9 would send such a dufus on a exchange assignment. Collins was born in Bidston, Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula in Cheshire, now Merseyside. [1] At the age of two he won 'The Most Beautiful Baby in Liverpool' contest. [4] He was educated at Gautby Road Primary School, Grange School in Birkenhead [1] and the Birkenhead Institute School. [5]President Reagan liked it, which meant no critic worthy of his two thumbs could be caught liking it. I liked it so much, I read everything I could on the SAS. If you enjoy watching films Maureen Dowd and Robert Scheer would never understand, this one's for you. In 1976, the dramatist and television producer Brian Clemens wrote a new British television crime-action drama series entitled The Professionals, modelled on the success of the hit American television series Starsky and Hutch. It was also intended to be a more realistic follow-up to a prior successful television series that he had just produced about government agents entitled The New Avengers. One of the more remarkable aspects about director Ian Sharp's garrote-taut hostage thriller is not only how well the gritty, flint-edged film holds up, but in today's divided world of political ferment, with clearly so little altered in the higher echelon's continued abuses of power, the crass media obfuscation, 'Who Dares Wins' (1982) continued relevance is additionally damning. Reginald Rose's lean, perfectly paced screenplay places our uncommonly heroic he-man Captain Peter Skellen (Lewis Collins) at the fulminating center of a well-funded, far from slumbering anti-nuclear terrorist cell, imperiously masterminded by intractable zealot Frankie Leith (Judy Collins) the unrelenting tension increases as Skellen embeds himself ever deeper into this murderous conspiracy, his covert solo mission fraught with myriad dangers, not only to himself, his lovely wife Jenny (Rosalind Lloyd) and new born baby Samantha but, perhaps, the continued peace of the western world. His final exercise was 24 hours without sleep despite laying in an icy swampy field soaked through for most of it on top of the Folkestone Cliffs Area with the biting wind and of course our many offers for him be give up were not taken up by Lewis.

The American ambassador's residence was played by Heatherden Hall, the office administration building at Pinewood Studios, a building that has inevitably appeared in many other British films, including the James Bond and Carry On series. For Who Dares Wins, the building was expanded with a fake additional storey. The production began in September 1981. The film had advisers who had worked in the SAS which led to some concerns from the Ministry of Defence that the film could breach the Official Secrets Act. [3] However, Lloyd said the ministry eventually gave its "tacit approval" to the film after two small changes to the story [ further explanation needed] were made, providing much wider access to defence equipment and personnel, including three military helicopters. [9] The terrorists demand that an American nuclear missile be fired at the nuclear submarine base at Holy Loch in western Scotland, to demonstrate the terrible effects of nuclear weapons. If their demands are not met, they will start killing the hostages.Euan Lloyd made one more film, Wild Geese II in 1985. Although nominally a sequel to his 1978 war film, it was more of an urban thriller in the Who Dares Wins mould, again written by Reginald Rose, and directed by former Bond editor and director Peter Hunt. a b c Dawson, Andy (28 November 2013). "RIP Lewis Collins: Why Professionals star was a real, proper man". Daily Mirror . Retrieved 30 December 2021. Lewis Collins' effective performance as Peter Skellern delivers Bond-style cheek and charisma especially during his scenes with Judy Davis (Frankie Leith). Although, sadly, cheesy dialogue and interaction with Rosalind Lloyd (Jennie Skellern) lets him down. A switch between the character of merciless undercover agent and likeable family-guy he's clearly not comfortable with. The terrorists' target is the residence of the American ambassador (Don Fellows), where a reception is taking place with a variety of distinguished guests. These include the U.S. Secretary of State (Richard Widmark), the British Foreign Secretary (John Woodnutt) and the head of the U.S. Strategic Air Command, General Ira Potter (Robert Webber). I first met Lewis when I served as a sergeant with 10 Para Recruit Training Wing. It was either Nov 78 or Feb 79 as neither of us could remember. Lew had came to do his Parachute Regiment recruit selection. I was one of his Selection and Training Instructors.

Collins married Michelle Larrett, a school-teacher, in 1992. The couple had three sons; Elliot, Oliver, and Cameron. [1] [35]

In a surprise casting choice, the Australian actress Judy Davis agreed to play Frankie Leith, the leader of the terrorist group. Davis was best known for the Australian period drama My Brilliant Career(1979) for which she had won a BAFTA award and much acclaim. Davis does what she can with her role in Who Dares Winsand she is at least memorable, but her early scenes with Collins are all but unplayable. We'll forget his later indiscretions - he had to earn a living, after all - but to young lads in the era of the late 1970s and early 1980s, he was the man, starring as the legendary William Bodie in TV's action drama 'The Professionals.'

a b c d e Stuart, Jeffries (28 November 2013). "Lewis Collins obituary: Actor who was both heart-throb and hardman as Bodie in The Professionals". The Guardian . Retrieved 30 June 2019.

Hi to all the "Lew" fans reading this, ladies and gents!

Lewis Collins was once touted as the next James Bond. I think he would have been a good choice based on his performance. here. Judy Davis steals the picture as the stern female militant leader. Some of the so-called names such as Richard Widmark, Edward Woodward and Robert Webber are not given enough to do but do their best within limited roles. Will Skellen be able to foil the terrorists and call in the SAS to rescue the hostages? And is it even a spoiler if I say that the answer to that question is Yes? Frankie decides to keep him around, partly because of his obvious sexual magnetism, and partly because of his expert special forces knowledge. Her group have a special operation of their own planned, and an ex-SAS officer has just the kind of information they might need. His portrayal of a hard-man in The Professionals earned him the role of Captain Peter Skellen in the film 'Who Dares Wins.'