John Spencer is a British spymaster.
A former Major in the army with a D.S.O. to his credit, he holds the position of Head of O2 Group (Special Operations) of the British Secret Service. He is described as suave, cunning, utterly ruthless, and terribly ribald with a love of good pornography. Whether he is telling an indecent joke or ordering someone's demise, he is always calculating.
Spencer is in his late forties having served more than twenty years in the military before retiring to take a position with O2. His work with his army's Special Forces had made him uniquely qualified to lead a department that took the fight to the enemy in any way that was necessary. It was not the job of O2 to collect and analyze intelligence, it was to fight the enemy and stop them. Spencer had done that job admirably for two decades before leading others in doing it.
The face that Spencer shows the world an "imposing" mustache as its most dominating feature though his pale-blue eyes, "clear and cold" would come a close second. He still has a full head of thick dark hair though it now is sprinkled liberally with silver at the temples. Overall his face shows the years of fighting the good fight and suffering more than its share of defeats. Through it all, though, his sense of humor has never left him even if it often has a touch of melancholy in it.
He is assisted by the thoroughly competent agent, Simon Russell, a man said to be "sardonic, unorthodox, daring". His actions are almost enough to give him equal billing but in the final analysis, the series really centers around his boss.