Powell came close to endorsing a real-life model in Denis Capel-Dunn, a lawyer and wartime lieutenant-colonel in the Intelligence Corps, who was briefly Powell's senior officer. Capel-Dunn was nicknamed "The Papal Bun", and was derided by his subordinates for his appearance and demeanour. He was described by his contemporaries as "a very fat, extremely boring, overwhelmingly ambitious arriviste.