Main characters of The Professionals
George Cowley
Portrayed by: Gordon Jackson
"I have progressed to triple think."
The head of CI5, Cowley is the undisputed genius of tactical thinking.
Tropes:
- Badass Bureaucrat: He can play the political game as well as anyone and sometimes joins the younger guys in the action and can handle himself in the fight.
- The Chessmaster: Often to the aggravation of Bodie and Doyle as he doesn't always explain his plan to them beforehand. Even the KGB regard him as a "wily old fox".
- Cool Old Guy: He fought against the fascists in the Spanish Civil War, served as a commando during World War 2 and in MI5 after the war. He demonstrates that he’s still handy with a weapon and is a very cool boss to Bodie and Doyle.
- Da Chief: An acerbic Scot often shown barking at Bodie and Doyle, but only to get the best out of them.
- Drinking on Duty: Cowley can afford to ignore the rules, and anyway his single malt Scotch is famous for smoothing relationships with Whitehall mandarins who visit his office just to sample it. Now and then he drops the gruff Scot act and lets the lads have a Quick Nip as well.
- A Father to His Men: He rides his men hard but will back them to the hilt. A Mean Boss who isn't above sharing a glass of Scotch with our heroes. And God help you if you kill a CI5 agent.Cowley: You betrayed my trust. Maybe that's not so important. But you also caused the death of one of my men. I can never forgive that. I think I'd like you to run, Peter...so I can shoot you in the guts!
- Glasses Pull: One of his Character Tics.
- Good is Not Nice: Cowley is definitely not a nice man, considering what he puts his agents through for the good of the Realm, but he does put other people before himself and works in the best interests of the public.
- In-Series Nickname: "The Cow" to his agents (but not to his face), and "Morris" to his old army friends.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: The Cow being a Mean Boss is played up in the earlier episodes, but he genuinely cares about his men even while putting them in danger.
- Majorly Awesome: He served as an officer in the British Army, where he attained the rank of major.
- Mean Boss: Though something of a Jerkass Façade."If you could avoid getting yourself killed I'd be grateful. Replacements can be very expensive."
- Not So Above It All:
- He claims not to have noticed the attractive legs of his Sexy Secretary, but after catching Bodie and Doyle using a sniper scope for Naughty Birdwatching, he corrects their estimate of the girl's dimensions.
- Although firmly opposed to racism, he can't help being thrown on seeing his Old Flame Annie Irvine now has a black boyfriend.
- Not So Stoic: He's usually very deadpan and doesn't show his emotions. However, he is visibly upset when he fails to save several witnesses from hitmen in "Heroes". He is also angered by Barker taking a hospital full of sick people hostage.
- Revolvers Are Just Better: Carries a snubnose S&W .38 revolver.
- Thrifty Scot: Complains about this stereotype despite making Bodie return the suit he's bought for an assignment, and pay for his overdue library books that he gave to Bodie as 'cover'.
- Wound That Will Not Heal: A leg injury that he got during the Spanish Civil War still aggravates him, fueling his acerbic nature. Later seasons however have Cowley Throwing Off the Disability to give his character a more active role in the field.
Raymond Doyle
Portrayed by: Martin Shaw
"Never use ingenuity when brute force and ignorance will do. It only saps the brain cells and you need to save all of yours!"
One of the best agents in CI5, ex-cop Doyle is partnered with Bodie. He's the nicer of the two and a bit of a bleeding heart.
Tropes:
- Afro Asskicker: Well, technically a perm…
- Badges and Dog Tags: Though Doyle is the ex-cop and Bodie the ex-soldier, some comments Doyle makes indicate that he saw some military service too.
- Badass in Distress: Doyle gets kidnapped or tied up several times during the show, although he does tend to become a Badass out of distress.
- Carpet of Virility: He has a hairy, manly chest. It was the 70's...
- Cool Shades: He often wears sunglasses.
- Dead Partner: His cop partner and father-figure, Syd Parker was killed during a routine patrol after ensuring that Doyle would be kept out of harm's way.
- Death Seeker: He's seriously wounded in "Discovered in a Graveyard", and his Adventures in Comaland imply that he's had enough of the violence and just wants an end to it. After recovering however Doyle just acts like his normal self.
- Delinquents: He described himself as a "right tearaway" as a teenager, "cutting up another kid when he was just a kid" himself.
- Heroic Ambidexterity: He fairly often draws with his left hand and fires before switching to his right.
- Hot-Blooded: So much that Bodie occasionally has to hold him back.
- Heroic BSoD: Briefly shuts down emotionally in "The Rack" after possibly killing a suspect in custody. Bodie snaps him out of it.
- The Idealist: In "Discovered in a Graveyard", Cowley notes this about Doyle, and that it makes him a useful operative in a complicated world, but also leaves him vulnerable to burn-out.
- Informed Ability: He's apparently an artist, but we never even see him pick up a pencil during the course of the series.
- I Just Want to Be Normal: He frequently considers resigning in order to live a normal life, but it's implied that he would miss the excitement of the job.
- Improbable Aiming Skills: Noted to have been the best shot with a handgun in the Met. and pulls off several near impossible shots.
- In-Series Nickname: Mostly called Ray, but also notably ‘Angelfish’, ‘Sunshine’, ‘Sherlock’, ‘Goldilocks’ and ‘Batman’.
- KidAnova: When Bodie jibes him about putting up a plaque in a back alley where he made out with a girl for the first time, Doyle retorts: "What d'ya mean 'first time?' I was nearly fifteen!"
- Real Men Cook: He's a good cook and maintains a healthy lifestyle that Bodie often jibes him about.
- Right-Handed Left-Handed Guns: Doyle has a habit of drawing his Walther with his left hand, even though it's worn in a shoulder holster on that side, meant for a right-handed crossdraw.
- Significant Name Overlap: Doyle seems to have a thing for girls called Ann. His first blonde was called Ann, he considers marrying Ann Holly, he's implied to have been involved with Ann Seaford, and when working with another High-Class Call Girl chooses to call her Ann as well.
- Trading Bars for Stripes: He joined the Metropolitan Police to "get some discipline" after a mispent youth of delinquency. He rose to the rank of detective and was their pistol shooting champion.
William Andrew Phillip Bodie
Portrayed by: Lewis Collins
"I believe in *me* because I was born tall, dark and beautiful... and engagingly modest of course."
An ex-mercenary and now member of CI5, Bodie is charismatic, violent and happy to play the 'Bad Cop' to Doyle's 'Good Cop'.
Tropes
- Badass in Distress: He's a hero and badass most of the time, but gets held hostage and Strapped to a Bomb by some German terrorists in "The Fugitive".
- Big Eater: Often seen chowing down on fast food (to Doyle's annoyance).
- Blood Knight: He loves to fight and clearly revels in being as destructive and scary as possible.
- Carpet of Virility: Has a manly, hairy chest. It was the 1970's...
- The Casanova: In his own words he'll bed any woman "under fifty, still warm and comes across".
- Cultured Badass: He can smash down doors and quote Keats at the drop of a hat.
- Dark and Troubled Past: He was a mercenary and apparently spent some time in an Angolan prison at some point. In "Where the Jungle Ends", we find out that one of his first loves was murdered by his old mercenary group.
- Drinking on Duty: Often tries to sneak in a drink when Doyle and Cowley aren't looking over his shoulder.
- Embarrassing First Name: William Andrew Philip Bodie only ever went by Bodie. "William" isn't a bad first name, but it's the combination with the others that does it.
- Embarrassing Middle Name: Andrew Phillip—all the princes (he was such a regal-looking baby).
- Expy: His backstory is identical to that of Mike Gambit from The New Avengers, although Gambit would rise to officer rank in the Army, while Bodie was a Sergeant. Both shows were created by Brian Clemens.
- Former Bigot: In "Klansmen", he displays some casual racism, further exacerbated by being stabbed by two black attackers. He later overcomes his prejudice after being saved by black hospital staff.
- Mr. Fanservice: In his own words: tall, dark and beautiful. And shows off that hairy chest of his.
- Hidden Depths: Appears as a thug to most, but is actually surprisingly cultured and poetic.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: The closest person for him in the world is his buddy Doyle. Touch Doyle and Bodie will END you.
- Improbable Age: He was a sailor, a mercenary in Angola, a soldier, an SAS sergeant and then a CI5 agent by the age of twenty-five.
- Last-Name Basis: Doyle is Doyle or Ray, but Bodie is only ever Bodie—never William, Bill, etc. We only know it because his full name was stated once, in "The Rack".
- The Nicknamer: Has a cornucopia of nicknames especially for Doyle.
- Overly Long Name: William Andrew Phillip Bodie. No other main character has a middle name, but Bodie has TWO.
- Real Men Wear Pink: Bodie quotes poetry, dresses well, knows how to wine and dine and...wears pink occasionally. He also drinks a lot of milk. This led to the fandom meme ‘Real Men Drink Milk’.
- Tall, Dark, and Handsome: He's tall and has a dark colouring. However, in his own words, he's tall, dark and beautiful, actually.
- The Runaway: He ran away from home at the age of fourteen, joined the Merchant Marine and then jumped ship to become a mercenary in Angola.
