Character: Dan Parker
Actor: Andrew Lee Potts
Episode: The Funk Hole

Andrew Lee Potts was delighted to be out of soldier's uniform in Foyle's War.

"I have had the Second World War coming out of my ears. I did Night Flight with Christopher Plummer, playing an RAF gunner, and I was a member of Hitler Youth in the film The Bunker, while in Band of Brothers I blew my face off with my own gun.

"I've been trained to use nearly every type of weapon so Foyle's War was a nice spin because I wasn't playing a soldier. There is a lot around about the war at the moment. I think it's because our future looks uneasy and people like to look back 50 years and see that something good was achieved."

Andrew plays Dan Parker, a labourer who helps out at Brookfield Court guesthouse.

"Dan is not someone I would choose to hang out with. He grafts and doesn't feel he gets enough for what he puts in. He has a bit of heart, but after one of his friends dies, he turns into a nasty piece of work.

"My hair was Brylcreemed down with a neat side parting. But I have a habit of having mad hair so this was very normal for me. I also had to wear really thick itchy trousers and a big suit jacket, shirt and tank top in the hottest summer we've ever had. So I lost a bit of weight inside the clothes - they cooked you internally. The first thing I did when I finished filming was bleach my hair blond."

It's not the first time Andrew has worked with Michael Kitchen.

"I did New Year's Day, a feature with him which was my big break. I played the lead and Michael was one of the supporting actors. It was a film that took me all around the world and I felt like a kid alongside Michael. This time, I felt like an adult at last."

Andrew started acting at the age of seven, alongside his sister Sarah Lee Potts. His credits include the role of Nero in Boudica, Strange, Always and Everyone, Sunburn, Hetty Wainthropp Investigates and The Biz, and he has just filmed the new series of Fat Friends and the feature film Dead Fish.

"It's been a good run for Sarah and I and I think we are both very rooted. I went on tour with Pete Postlethwaite when I was 16 and I knew I didn't want fame or celebrity, I just wanted respect from my peers. Sarah is based in America now and she has just done an episode of NYPD Blue."

Andrew's next job is in the BBC comedy Absolute Power, which also features his Foyle's War co-stars Adrian Lukis and Nicholas Farrell.

"I play one of Stephen Fry's PR clients - I'm an ex-boy band coke addict and get lots of tattoos. I think deep down every actor wants to be a rock star, so I am having a good time."

October 2003; Publicity Release