Trivia / The Champions (1968)

• California Doubling: This was frequently necessary, as the series was set all over the world, from China to Australia to the Caribbean, but was filmed almost exclusively in the Home Counties. For example, in the pilot episode "The Beginning", the British Rail Centre in Watford doubles for a Chinese research laboratory.
• Creator's Favourite Episode: Cyril Frankel directed ten of the thirty episodes. His favourite was "The Interrogation".
• Development Hell: In November 2007, it was reported that Guillermo del Toro would produce and write a film adaptation for United Artists. In 2008, Christopher McQuarrie was signed to co-write and co-produce the film. Since then there have been no further developments about it. Tom Cruise was going to star, but following Valkyrie and the poor performance of Lions for Lambs, the film was cancelled.
• Dolled-Up Instalment: One episode was an unused Danger Man script that was updated.
• Recycled Set: Owing to budget constraints, many sets were reused: three episodes were set on a submarine and three in the Arctic.
• Uncredited Role:
  • Dino Shafeek as a manservant in "The Dark Island".
  • Josephine Tewson as a hotel switchboard operator in "The Night People".
  • Talfryn Thomas as a garage mechanic in "The Body Snatchers".
  • Rudolph Walker as a conference room guard in "Desert Journey".
• What Could Have Been:
  • The role of Tremayne was originally intended for Douglas Fairbanks Jr., but he withdrew from the production.
  • Ian McShane tested for the part of Richard Barrett.
  • Annette Andre was considered for the female lead part of Sharron Macready. She would ultimately be cast as the female lead in fellow ITC Entertainment show Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), which was filmed next door to The Champions. She and Alexandra Bastedo, who ultimately won the role of Sharron, would often borrow from each others' wardrobes.

---