provisionally entitled Task Force South, came to nothing, so he instead signed a German-Italian co-production contract to star in three mercenary war genre feature films directed by Antonio Margheriti set in the Third World, viz., Code Name: Wild Geese (1984), Kommando Leopard (1985) and Der Commander (1988), which attempted to capitalise on the recent box-office hits of The Wild Geese and The Dogs of War. They were commercially unsuccessful; as a result he returned to working in British television productions. In 1986 he played the French medieval war-lord Philip Marc in the series Robin of Sherwood. In 1988 he played second lead to Michael Caine in the British television film Jack the Ripper. At the start of the 1990s, he appeared in the role of "Colonel Mustard" in the British television drama/gameshow Cluedo (1991–92), however acting roles became sparser as the decade progressed. In the early 1990s, seeking to extend his career options in drama to work beyond acting he attended courses in screenwriting and direction at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television in Los Angeles, California, US, but this led to no subsequent professional employment. In the mid-1990s he moved his family to Los Angeles, where he was residing part-time, while he returned to England intermittently for the occasional provincial theatre tour and minor acting roles in television productions. In March 1997, Collins announced in an interview on British television that he was in discussions with a production company to star in a new series based on The Professionals, reprising his career signature role of William Bodie as the CI5 Agency's Chief in the part played by Gordon Jackson in the original series. However, after months of negotiations it was announced by the producer David Wickes that Collins had been dropped as a casting option for the role for undisclosed reasons, and it had been given to the actor Edward Woodward instead. The new show, entitled CI5:The New Professionals, went on to be a commercial and critical failure, and only ran for one series. Collins' final acting performance was in an episode of the British television police drama seriesThe Bill entitled "034" in 2002. Final years In 2003, Collins left Britain and abandoned acting and drama, and saw out his last decade in private business in the United States, selling computer equipment. In early 2012, his return to acting was announced by his theatrical agent issuing a