Lewis Collins: Life, Death, and Legacy of The Professionals Star

Born: 27 May 1946 ·
Died: 27 November 2013 (aged 67) ·
Known for: Bodie in The Professionals ·
Spouse: Michelle Larrett (m. 1992) ·
Children: 3 sons ·
Cause of death: Cancer

The nine key facts below draw a clean line between what is documented and what remains uncertain about the actor’s life.

The table distills what obituaries agree on, while the gaps hint at the privacy Collins maintained.

What was the cause of Lewis Collins’ death?

Collins died on 27 November 2013 at age 67 after what multiple obituaries describe as a five-year struggle with cancer. BBC News (public service broadcaster) reported his death, and ITV News (UK commercial broadcaster) confirmed the cause as cancer. The family did not release a specific diagnosis, and no official source has ever named the exact type of cancer.

What type of cancer did Lewis Collins have?

• The specific type of cancer has not been publicly confirmed by any official source.
• Obituaries in The Guardian (UK newspaper of record) and The Telegraph (broadsheet obituary) refer only to “cancer” without further detail.

Was Lewis Collins a smoker?

• No reliable source or interview has ever addressed whether Collins smoked.
• Given the lack of evidence, this question remains unanswered.

The implication: what remains unconfirmed says as much about Collins’s desire for privacy as the confirmed facts do about his public life.

How much was Lewis Collins worth when he died?

No publicly verified net worth figure exists for Lewis Collins. Every number circulating online—whether from celebrity wealth trackers or fan wikis—is speculative. BBC News (public service broadcaster) obituaries mention his career but do not cite any estate valuation. The actor largely retired from acting after the 1990s, which suggests his later income was modest compared to his peak years.

The catch: because Collins stepped away from the industry, no estate valuation was ever made public, leaving the field to speculation.

Who is Lewis Collins’ wife?

Collins married American Michelle Larrett in 1992. ITV News (UK commercial broadcaster) reported the marriage in its obituary. Larrett was a significant reason Collins relocated to the United States in the early 1990s.

Did Lewis Collins have children?

• Yes, Collins and Larrett had three sons together.
• The family lived in Los Angeles, away from the British press spotlight.

The pattern: Collins traded screen time for family time, and the public record reflects that bargain.

Why did Lewis Collins move to America?

After marrying American Michelle Larrett, Collins moved to Los Angeles in the early 1990s. BBC News (public service broadcaster) notes that his career slowed significantly after the move. He appeared in only a handful of productions afterward, suggesting that the relocation marked a deliberate transition away from full-time acting.

Why did Lewis Collins stop acting?

• He largely retired from acting after the early 1990s, with only occasional later roles.
• No single public statement explains his retirement; the move to America appears to have been the turning point.
• His last credited role before his death was in a 2000 film, The Criminal, according to IMDb (film database).

What this means: the decision was never stated, only acted upon, which fuels the mystique around his later years.

What did Martin Shaw say about Lewis Collins?

Martin Shaw, who played Doyle opposite Collins’s Bodie, has given several interviews about his co-star. In one widely quoted comment, Shaw described Collins as “a very straight, very honest man” (as reported in UK press obituaries). The two had different personalities—Shaw was more reserved, Collins more outgoing—but they maintained a friendship after the show ended.

Did Gordon Jackson get on with Lewis Collins?

• Gordon Jackson, who played their boss Cowley, reportedly had a professional but sometimes tense relationship with Collins on set.
• No major public falling-out was ever documented, but behind-the-scenes accounts suggest a generational and temperamental gap.

What was Lewis Collins like in real life?

• Those who knew him describe a man who was confident, direct, and not afraid to speak his mind.
• His interest in SAS training (he applied to join the territorial SAS) contributed to his tough-guy image, though whether he passed selection remains unconfirmed.

Did Bodie and Doyle get on in real life?

• Collins and Shaw got on well professionally but were not close friends off-camera.
• Shaw has spoken of their mutual respect, telling The Guardian (obituary) that Collins was “a good man to work with.”

The implication: the intensity viewers saw on screen was craft, not camaraderie, which makes the performances more impressive.

The pattern emerges: a life of sharp peaks in the late 1970s, then a deliberate retreat from public view.

The division reveals how much of Collins’s life remains outside the public record, even for basic biographical details.

What his co-stars said

“He was a very straight, very honest man.”

— Martin Shaw, co-star of The Professionals (as quoted in UK press)

Shaw also told The Guardian (obituary) that Collins was “a good man to work with,” reinforcing the portrait of a professional who earned respect on set.

Gordon Jackson, who played Cowley, had a professional but occasionally tense rapport with Collins, according to behind-the-scenes accounts. No public animosity was ever aired, but the age and personality gap showed in the studio.

The pattern: Collins was respected but not universally easy-going. His intensity—the same quality that made Bodie compelling—could create friction. Yet the respect from his peers was genuine.

Legacy and what remains

For fans who grew up watching The Professionals on ITV, Lewis Collins is Bodie—the sharp, loyal, tough agent. His decision to step away from fame in the 1990s means he never capitalized on nostalgia tours or personal appearances. That choice, deliberate or not, preserved his mystique.

For today’s streaming audience discovering the show on services like BritBox, the unanswered questions—about the cancer, the SAS rumor, the retirement—only add to the intrigue. The verified facts are few, but they are solid. The rest is speculation, and Collins’s family has kept it that way.

The implication: the gaps in the record are not failures of research but reflections of a man who guarded his privacy to the end.

Frequently asked questions