Interview with Brian Clemens and Laurie Johnson

darren · Post by **darren** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 10:30 pm

I just came across this Professionals interview conducted by Dave Rogers(!), it seems fairly recent.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P90ayP12rQ8

Although about The Professionals, they talk about The Avengers a few times, interestingly about the overlap of series (finishing the Canadian episodes whilst starting on their new show).

I loved Dave Rogers' books but he's not a good interviewer going by this. Clemens and Johnson feels quite awkward at times.

Dandy Forsdyke · Post by **Dandy Forsdyke** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 11:10 pm

Thanks for that. I'm sure I've seen it before but certainly didn't mind seeing it again. Was that Dave Rogers interviewing?

Timeless A-Peel · Post by **Timeless A-Peel** » Wed Oct 24, 2012 1:44 am

I'll have to watch this when I have more time. And if it is Dave Rogers, it's a welcome surprise!

I have heard about the overlap in filming TNA and The Professionals, though. That was the reason Brian Clemens couldn't cast Gareth in it, though he says he wanted to.

Alan · Post by **Alan** » Wed Oct 24, 2012 7:53 am

That's got to be about ten years old now.

Dandy Forsdyke · Post by **Dandy Forsdyke** » Wed Oct 24, 2012 10:46 am

Timeless A-Peel wrote:I'll have to watch this when I have more time. And if it is Dave Rogers, it's a welcome surprise!

I have heard about the overlap in filming TNA and The Professionals, though. That was the reason Brian Clemens couldn't cast Gareth in it, though he says he wanted to.

Which part would Gareth have had, do we know?

Timeless A-Peel · Post by **Timeless A-Peel** » Wed Oct 24, 2012 12:36 pm

Dandy Forsdyke wrote:
Timeless A-Peel wrote:I'll have to watch this when I have more time. And if it is Dave Rogers, it's a welcome surprise!

I have heard about the overlap in filming TNA and The Professionals, though. That was the reason Brian Clemens couldn't cast Gareth in it, though he says he wanted to.
Which part would Gareth have had, do we know?

Erm, I should probably know this off the top of my head, but I've never watched The Professionals, so it's never really lodged in my brain--I still couldn't tell you which one was Bodie and which one was Doyle. This is where Dave Matthews' site comes to the rescue. Doing a quick check, it looks like he would have been Bodie--the Lewis Collins part. From Dave's site:

Finding an actor to play Bodie wasn't straightforward, either. Gareth Hunt (the New Avengers 'Gambit' character, of course) recently stated that in the early stages he was being considered. However pressure from LWT meant production on The Professionals had to start while The New Avengers was still filming (in France and Canada), so this wasn't feasible. (Though Gareth briefly dropped in on filming sometime during 1980, as evidenced by a photograph in one of the Professionals annuals.)

I don't claim to have ever so much as googled a Professionals annual, but I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that the photo was this one:

Dandy Forsdyke · Post by **Dandy Forsdyke** » Wed Oct 24, 2012 12:48 pm

What a great pic - shame about the eBay watermark.

It would have been interesting if perhaps Gareth had come in later, as a third member.

I like Gordon Jackson, he'd have been a good fit in The New Avengers playing some kind of 'Mother' role.

Timeless A-Peel · Post by **Timeless A-Peel** » Wed Oct 24, 2012 12:57 pm

Dandy Forsdyke wrote:What a great pic - shame about the eBay watermark.

It would have been interesting if perhaps Gareth had come in later, as a third member.

I like Gordon Jackson, he'd have been a good fit in The New Avengers playing some kind of 'Mother' role.

It's the only version I've ever seen, so it'll have to do. 1980 looks about right for it.

I would have watched The Professionals instantly if Gareth was in it. As it is, I still haven't gotten around to it. I'm usually really good at separating actors from roles, but I still have residual anger stemming from Martin Shaw's role as Larry Doomer. I don't care how happy Judi Dench was to see him in Cranford--he hit Purdey, darn it!

That picture really takes things full circle--Gareth was in Upstairs, Downstairs with Gordon Jackson, of course.

Dandy Forsdyke · Post by **Dandy Forsdyke** » Wed Oct 24, 2012 2:00 pm

That gif. is hilarous.

Timeless A-Peel · Post by **Timeless A-Peel** » Wed Oct 24, 2012 2:41 pm

Dandy Forsdyke wrote: That gif. is hilarous.

It's pretty genius, isn't it?

I made it a couple of years back when I rewatched Gareth's episodes of Upstairs, Downstairs. They're about to serve drinks in the drawing room, and they can hear the music playing through the door, and Gareth's character does a bit of a dance to it before Gordon Jackson tells him off for it. If you haven't seen Gareth's run in UpDown, I can recommend it. He's lots of fun.