Character: Henderson
Actor: Adam Kotz
Episode: Eagle Day
Adam Kotz knows about the horrors of the Second World War only too well - his father was locked up in a war camp after joining the Polish Resistance.

"My dad was in the Polish army fighting against the Nazis. He ended up in a war camp and was in solitary confinement for a long time. He was very young and had a very hard war, but he was lucky. Only two of the 38 in my father's high school class survived.

"So many people in Poland had similar experiences so my father felt his story was nothing special.

"My mum is British but she was also involved as a dispatch rider in the WRENS. In her youth she was rather adventurous and I'm certain she was involved in taking messages for D-Day. There are photos of her leaping burning haystacks on her bike when they did trials to try and improve their skills.

"She was a bit special as a rider. I remember in 1975 a friend of the family came to see us on an old bike. Mum hadn't ridden for 30 years but we talked her into jumping on. She roared off down a hill and we didn't see her for a couple of hours."

In Foyle's War, Adam plays Henderson, a Special Branch Officer who becomes suspicious about Andrew Foyle (Julian Ovenden) while investigating the activities of his friend Bruce Leighton-Morris (Jamie Parker).

"He's a man doing his job in a climate of massive suspicion. He's hard nosed and doesn't make many friends. But the need for security is absolutely paramount because the fear of spies and sabotage is enormous. Within the paranoia of the time, no-one is above suspicion, especially as Andrew's new post at the radar station is very hush-hush."

Adam's other credits include Spooks, Midsomer Murders, Holby City, Perfect, Whistleblower, Band of Gold, Shot Through The Heart, All the Kings Men, Never Never, Driving Ambition and the films The Lost Battalion and Secret Passage.

"The Lost Battalion is the true story of a First World War battalion which survived against all odds. I play the charismatic commander who kept them together when they were lost behind enemy lines. Secret Passage is set in Venice in the 16th century and stars Tara Fitzgerald and John Turturro. I play the inquisitor who makes life awful for everyone."

September 2002; Publicity Release