Life in the global war against big-time crooks is tough. It's even tougher if you're a woman fighting in a distinctly male-oriented environment where scrapes with the Mafia, helicopter dogfights and dramatic explosions become part of every day life. But stunning Canadian actress Lexa Doig - who plays the quick thinking martial arts and computer expert Tina Backus in Sky One's CI5: The New Professionals - takes it all in her stride.
Life in the global war against big-time crooks is tough. It's even tougher if you're a woman fighting in a distinctly male-oriented environment where scrapes with the Mafia, helicopter dogfights and dramatic explosions become part of every day life.
But stunning Canadian actress Lexa Doig - who plays the quick thinking martial arts and computer expert Tina Backus in Sky One's CI5: The New Professionals - takes it all in her stride.
Lexa - short for Alexandra - is every bit a woman for the 21st century, and although she's looking forward to having children "some time," she's got very definite ideas about the role of women in modern society.
"Women play very important roles in real life situations in every walk of life, including security and the military. So it's natural that we should have a woman crime-buster in The New Professionals," said Lexa.
In London to promote the new 13 part CI5 - Criminal Intelligence Five - Lexa, aged 26, admits that she dropped out of high school in her teens because she "couldn't get on" with her teachers.
"I went out and got a job modelling shoes for a mail order catalogue," she added.
Lexa is quite adamant that Tina Backus was not put into the script "just to be politically correct or to decorate the set" of the series which will be sold worldwide and was first aired in the UK on Sky One on September 19.
In fact Tina plays an "important back-up role" to CI5 commander Harry Malone (Edward Woodward) and Agents Chris Keel and Sam Curtis, played by fellow Canadian Kal Weber and Colin Wells.
"Commander Malone calls me Miss Backus while Chris and Sam call me Back-up," added Lexa who said she adored working with the three of them. "Edward was so supportive, with his vast experience and Kal and Colin were like big brothers to me."
But one of her most memorable moments during filming was when she got to cuddle a couple of "live cheetahs" while on location near Cape Town.
Lexa does not remember the original 1970s series of the Professionals, which was essentially a purely British organisation. In the new series, a consortium of Western governments works together to fund what the publicity material describes as "the most secret security force in the world."
Instead of Bodie and Doyle there's Keel and Curtis and instead of gold medallions and flares the new crime-busters sport designer suits. Where Bodie and Doyle charged around London, the new crew gets to chase villains in Russia, Cape Town and South Carolina.
Although she says she prefers to remain anonymous when she's off duty, Lexa has one of those faces you don't easily forget.
Perhaps it's got something to do with her origins. Her father David is a fourth-generation Scotsman living in Toronto where Lexa was born, and her mother Gloria, is Filipino.
Lexa, who openly admits she'd like to work in Hollywood, has a string of successful TV shows to her credit in Canada, including the 1985 horror series Psycho Girls and Tech War, first screened in 1994. She's also played the lead female stage roles in Romeo and Juliet and Arsenic and Old Lace.
When she's not on the set or on stage, Lexa relaxes with Hip-Hop street dancing or rhythmic gymnastics. In fact, it was these skills which helped her to win her job in The New Professionals. She hopes she'll be called back if there's a sequel.
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