Character: Sergeant Bill Ferris
Actor: Tony Maudsley
Episode: A Lesson In Murder

Tony Maudsley enjoyed playing the bad guy for a change in Foyle's War.

"I generally get cast in victim roles so to be given a tormentor was a challenge and great to get my teeth into, especially playing a nasty character in a period piece.

"Bill Ferris is a policeman who is the arresting officer at a police station. The film is about conscientious objectors, or 'conchies', as Bill calls them. He has a brother who is fighting in France and a lot of his mates will not come back from the war. So he doesn't have a lot of sympathy for the conchies' beliefs. He is quite aggressive and physical; he uses his size and his authority and almost tortures the poor guy in the cell."

Tony is more used to playing characters on the other side of the prison bars, such as Stefan Kiszko in the award-winning A Life For A Life, and wronged prisoner David McVay in another new ITV1 drama, Rose & Maloney.

Since his acclaimed portrayal of Kiszko, Tony has not looked back, with My Uncle Silas, Mersey Beat, Nice Guy Eddie, Gentleman's Relish, In A Land of Plenty, Plunkett and Maclean and Sleepy Hollow among his many credits

Forthcoming roles include Ready When You Are, Mr McGill with Tom Courtenay, Avenging Angels with Jessica Stephenson and Simon Shepherd and the feature film The Intended with Brenda Fricker, Olympia Dukakis and Janet McTeer.

It's all a far cry from the days when he gave up acting to work in bingo halls.

"I started acting at 16, mainly in community theatre in Liverpool near my home. I dropped out for a while and worked in three different bingo halls. Then I was offered a place at the Welsh College of Music and Drama. I was 23 then and I've never looked back.

"I feel honoured for the roles and huge opportunities I've had. It's great to be this busy and have such a variety of roles, probably all because I don't have matinee idol looks!"

September 2002; Publicity Release