Character: Margaret Ellis
Actor: Maggie Steed
Episode: The White Feather

Maggie Steed is reunited with her one-time 'husband' in Foyle's War.

"Paul Brooke plays my husband Arthur and we also played husband and wife in The History Man, an award-winning drama by Malcolm Bradbury in the 1980s. It made it easier to have a shorthand already. Although it was a long time ago, we still seemed to pick up exactly where we left off."

Maggie describes her character Margaret Ellis as a perfectionist who finds it difficult to cope with the changes of wartime.

"She is a woman who was brought up to have higher expectations of life. From her point of view, she sees the world disintegrating around her. She mistakenly thinks that the fascists and the blackshirts are the answer to everything."Margaret runs The White Feather Hotel, and welcomes gatherings of pro-Nazi supporters such as Guy Spencer (Charles Dance). "I didn't want her to be just a monster - you have to give some indication of how people become like that. To make her a perfectionist we gave her perfect hair, clothing and make-up - far more than is needed for her job."

Adds Maggie: "The costumes and hair were terrific and I think it's a good idea to set a series in the war. It's a fantastic backdrop and doesn't have to mean there are murders all the time."

Maggie has enjoyed a long career and considerable acclaim in such roles as Lipstick on Your Collar, Pie in the Sky, Shine on Harvey Moon, Brideshead Revisited, French & Saunders and Martin Chuzzlewit. She has appeared extensively on stage for the RSC, Royal National Theatre and Half Moon Theatre.

"I'm now filming the second series of Born and Bred for the BBC, playing Phyllis who runs the pub. It's another period drama, although set slightly later than Foyle's War. The success of the first series took everyone by surprise and I really enjoy it."

September 2002; Publicity Release