Character: Curling
Actor: Trevor Cooper
Episode: They Fought In the Fields

Trevor Cooper had to learn important farming skills like skinning a rabbit for his role as Curling in Foyle's War.
"Times are hard and Curling has to trap and skin rabbits. I was a bit fearful of it but once I got over the initial feeling it was ok because we were dealing with dead rabbits. I also had to do some farrowing - leading a horse with a large metal mesh which breaks the land up. I had a quick tutorial and then I kept fairly straight lines. It was hard work but enjoyable."

Curling lives next door to the farmer run by Hugh Jackson (Nigel Terry) and his team of land girls.
"He appears on first viewing to be a grumpy farmer who doesn't like people on his land. But he has a genuine grievance. When Hugh Jackson seems to have money and a new tractor, Curling is a man who feels hard done by. He is not particularly unpleasant, but he's not forthcoming or friendly.

"He lives on the land and has a huge family to support and, like everyone in the war, he is doing his best to make ends meet. I've played a few farmers in my time and it's that sense of not being forthcoming which comes across and grumpiness."

Trevor grew up in north Devon. "I am not really a country person, though, because I discovered the lights of the city and moved away."

This year has seen Trevor in a wide variety of roles. "I played a murderer in Rose & Maloney. That was good for me, he was a particularly repellent individual who was decent to all intents and purposes on the surface, but a nasty man inside.

"I've also done My Hero for the BBC and then went on to play Churchill on the fringe in a play called Soldiers. It was a real challenge and something completely different. I listened to tapes and you can't ignore that extraordinary voice. It's not been a bad year and it was nice to go from playing a poor farmer to playing the leader in the war."

Trevor's other credits include Down to Earth, Eroica, Midsomer Murders, Longitude, The Singing Detective, Our Friends in the North and the films Whistle Blower, Gangs of New York and Dead Fish.