Martin Shaw is the son of an engineer and a champion ballroom-dancer.
He was educated at the Great Barr School in Birmingham.
He attended LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts).
Martin Shaw played tough cop Ray Doyle in The Professionals, who with his partner Bodie played by Lewis Collins worked to the Gordon Jackson character.
Later in life, Martin Shaw has played Judge John Deed and P.D. James's Adam Dalgliesh, as well as Father Jacob in Apparitions.
In 1996 he received a Tony Award nomination for his performance in An Ideal Husband.
