Foyle's War - The German Woman - 1:20 pm Tuesday, January 6 on ITV3

Michael Kitchen (Actor) .. Christopher Foyle

Born: October 31, 1948 in Leicester

Best Known For: Foyle's War.

Early-life: Born October 31, 1948, in Leicester. As a boy, he was the head chorister in the Church of the Martyrs choir. The acting bug bit early, and he started treading the boards with the National Youth Theatre and later the Belgrade Theatre. He then went on to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where he won the Emile Littler Award, which is given to students with outstanding talent and aptitude for the professional theatre. He graduated in 1969.

Career: Kitchen immediately began gaining roles on stage, quickly building a reputation for himself. He was also keen to shun small parts in glossy productions, preferring to play larger roles in less well-attended plays. He made his movie debut in 1971's little-seen Unman, Wittering and Zigo, following it up with Dracula AD 1972. Since then, he's worked steadily on TV and in films. Among his most famous projects are Brimstone and Treacle, Breaking Glass, Out of Africa, The Russia House, Dandelion Dead, A&E and the hugely acclaimed TV series Foyle's War. He also appeared in two of Pierce Brosnan's Bond movies and starred in ITV's 2007 drama Mobile.

Quote: On playing criminals: "I've done quite a few very unpleasant, extremely nasty people and they keep coming - but there seems to be a lot more money in evil, so I'm happy to take them."

Trivia: Kitchen has two sons with Rowena Miller, whom he met while she was a dresser at the Royal Shakespeare Company in the late 1980s.

Edward Fox (Actor) .. Assistant Commissioner Summers

Born: April 13, 1937 in London

Best Known For: The Day of the Jackal.

Early-life: Edward Charles Morice Fox was born on April 13, 1937, in Chelsea, west London. He is part of the Fox theatrical dynasty. Edward has two younger brothers - James is also an actor, while Robert is a producer. His mother, Angela, is said to have been the inspiration for Noel Coward's song Don't Put Your Daughter on the Stage Mrs Worthington. Following a spell in the Coldstream Guards, Fox studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Career: Fox was an extra in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (which featured his brother James), and had a bigger role in 1963's This Sporting Life, the same year he made his TV debut in Suspense. He quickly became famous in the UK thanks to Edward & Mrs Simpson, The Jokers, The Portrait of a Lady, Oh! What a Lovely War, and The Go-Between, but it was The Day of the Jackal in 1973 which brought him international acclaim. Since then, Fox has appeared in A Bridge Too Far, The Duellists, Gandhi, Never Say Never Again, A Passage to India, Lost in Space, Stage Beauty and Oliver Twist. He continues to act on stage.

Quote: "Actors either know the job or they don't. I would rather not be there if they don't know what they are doing."

Trivia: He received an OBE in 2002.

Robert Hardy (Actor) .. Harry Beaumont

Born: October 29, 1925 in Cheltenham

Best Known For: Siegfried in All Creatures Great and Small.

Early-life: Timothy Sydney Robert Hardy was born on October 29, 1925 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. He studied at Oxford University under CS Lewis and in 1949 he joined the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon. He developed an interest in medieval history - in particular, in the use of the longbow. Regarded as one of Britain's leading experts on that weapon, he wrote a book about it, served as a consultant on the longbow for organisations involved in history projects, and handcrafted longbows himself.

Career: Hardy made his TV debut in Twelfth Night in 1957 and went on to appear in a series of films and TV shows before the BBC drama All Creatures Great And Small made him a star in 1978. He appeared in another version of Twelfth Night in 1980. Other highlights include Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years, The Far Pavilions, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Sense and Sensibility, Shackleton, and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. He played William Whitelaw in Margaret, a 2009 TV film about the life of politician Margaret Thatcher. He died on August 3, 2017 at the age of 91.

Quote: On one of his more divine roles: "Do I find it easy to play God? After playing Churchill for so long, it seems a logical step. I come on absolutely as myself, except that I'm wearing white robes."

Trivia: Hardy was awarded a CBE in 1981.

David Horovitch (Actor) .. Thomas Kramer

Anthony Howell (Actor) .. Paul Milner

Joanna Kanska (Actor) .. Greta Beaumont

Dominic Mafham (Actor) .. Michael Turner

Julian Ovenden (Actor) .. Andrew Foyle

Rosamund Pike (Actor) .. Sarah Beaumont

Honeysuckle Weeks (Actor) .. Samantha Stewart

Elizabeth Bell (Actor) .. Elsie Kramer

Robert Pickavance (Actor) .. Eric Stephens

Cassian Horowitz (Actor) .. William

Neil Conrich (Actor) .. Policeman 1

Andrew Powell (Actor) .. Official 1

Paul Putner (Actor) .. Official 2

Benedict Sandiford (Actor) .. Mark Andrews

Robert Goodale (Actor) .. Bob Keegan

Philip Whitchurch (Actor) .. Ian Judd

Nancy Lodder (Actor) .. Tracey Stephens

James McAvoy (Actor) .. Ray Pritchard

Born: April 21, 1979 in Port Glasgow

Best Known For: Shameless, X-Men: First Class and Wanted.

Early-life: Born in Port Glasgow on April 21, 1979, he is the son of a psychiatric nurse and a builder. His parents divorced when he was seven and he was brought up by his maternal grandparents in the Drumchapel area of Glasgow due to his mother's ill health. He has a sister and a younger half-brother. A visit to his school by actor David Hayman sparked an interest in acting, and Hayman offered him a part in his film The Near Room. James had already been accepted by the Royal Navy when he was also offered a place at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD). He selected the acting route and moved to London after graduating in 2000.

Career: McAvoy made guest appearances in a steady stream of TV shows (including The Bill, Band of Brothers, Foyle's War, State of Play and Early Doors) and movies until he caught the British public's imagination in 2004 playing Steve McBride in Shameless. A year later he became known to worldwide audiences for his role in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Since then he has been much in demand and starred in The Last King of Scotland, Penelope, Becoming Jane, Atonement, Wanted, the X-Men franchise, Filth, Muppets Most Wanted and Trance. He has also voiced characters in Gnomeo & Juliet and Arthur Christmas. McAvoy is a big fan of Celtic FC.

Quote: "I always believed that I never wanted to be an actor. I only did it because I was allowed to do it and I had to do something."

Trivia: Wed Shameless co-star Anne-Marie Duff in 2006. They have a son, Brendan. McAvoy describes their quiet way of life as: "mundane, and I love it that way".

Tom Chadbon (Actor) .. Dr Julian Groves

Jonathan Hackett (Actor) .. Doctor

Sam Troughton (Actor) .. Policeman 2

Joanne Reeves Baker (Actor) .. Maid

Anthony Horowitz (Writer)

Jill Green (Producer)

Jeremy Silberston (Director)

Foyle's War: The German Woman

1:20 pm - 3:30 pm, Tuesday, January 6 on ITV3 (10)

About this Broadcast

The German Woman
Season 1, Episode 1

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