Character: Sir Michael Waterford
Actor: John Wood
Episode: Enemy Fire

Filming Foyle's War brought back boyhood memories of the Battle of Britain for John Wood.

"I was nine at the time of the Battle of Britain and I remember watching it - loud bangs and people dangling down on parachutes. I was living in Hertfordshire and they were all coming over from the East. We would see the vapour trails in the sky on cold days and I still have vivid memories of it all.

"I wasn't frightened, it was all terribly exciting and I was praying it would last long enough for me to join in. Unfortunately I was too young but it was a great time for a little boy running around and pretending to be a soldier.

"Being old enough to have been around when this was all happening is one of the attractions of Foyle's War. It is impeccable and you don't see any ghastly mistakes that you see on other war dramas."

John plays Sir Michael Waterford, whose country home is taken over to create a hospital for injured airmen.

"He is a country gent in his costume and his outlook. He served in the trenches in the First World War and we decided he was the commanding officer of a regiment and had been discharged as a Lieutenant Colonel.

"He is full up establishment and has done all the right things at the right time, a sort of local hero and pillar of the community. But he made one terrible mistake long, long ago and unfortunately it catches up with him. He turns out to be a hollow man.

"Working on Foyle's War was great fun, a lovely tight ship. Michael Kitchen and I did The Provok'd Wife at the National quite a while ago and it was good to work with him again. I've been acting for 52 years but actors don't give up - I still enjoy it enormously."

John's credits include Goodnight Mr Chips, Love in a Cold Climate, Longitude and the starring role in Barnaby Rudge on television, and the films The Rocket Post, Chocolat, The Little Vampire, The Madness of King George, Shadowlands and The Purple Rose of Cairo.