Rudi Henrik was the son and heir of the Henrik family and owner of Henrik's department store. He had a wife, Valentina, and a boyfriend, Oskar. In March 2005, he was 27 years old. He had a reputation for supposedly loving and supporting his family's employees, which was untrue. He had had his face Botoxed until it was as smooth as a mannequin's. (PROSE: Rose [+]Loading...["Rose (novelisation)"])
Henrik's was blown up by the Ninth Doctor (TV: Rose [+]Loading...["Rose (TV story)"]) on 4 March 2005 because it had been infested by a nest of Nestene. In the aftermath, a trip was scheduled for Rudi to come visit the store's ruins and meet staff who had been rendered unemployed by the disaster. The visit was intended solely to keep up appearances; the body of Senior Caretaker Bernard Wilson had been found in the rubble, and Rudi's lawyers had informed him that if Wilson could be blamed for the bombing, the insurance contracts were worded in a way that made no difference between "staff" singular or plural. This wiggle room allowed the family to extend the blame to the entire staff, meaning they would not have to pay compensation. One lawyer in Berlin had even suggested that it might be possible for Rudi to sue the staff for lost wages. Wilson had, in fact, intended to burn down the store that night, only to be killed by Autons.
On 5 March, word of Rudi's coming visit spread amongst Henrik's employees, many of whom were lining up at a portacabin set up at the ruins to give the staff compensation forms, including rumours that he would bring a windfall of thousands of pounds in cash to hand out. However, as time passed with no sign of him, one bitter ex-security guard suggested that Rudi's helicopter had been held up at Monte Carlo. Jackie Tyler, there to collect forms on behalf of her daughter Rose, heard the talk about Rudi and briefly fantasized about becoming "Jackie Henrik" as "madder things" had happened.
Rudi's limousine, carrying himself, Valentina, and Oskar, arrived at the ruins of Henrik's after the start of the Autons' invasion, as they began to slaughter people in the streets of London. In a good mood due to the news from his lawyers, Rudi exited the car first and saw a group of Autons approaching. He assumed them to be former Henrik's staff greeting their "master" in costume, and commented on how "sweet" the apparent tribute was. He was still smiling when one Auton decapitated his wife, and a second drilled into Oskar's stomach. Wailing in a panic, Rudi fled back inside the limo. However, one Auton stopped the door closing and climbed in after him, killing him in a way that made the limousine shake as blood was splattered across the inside of the windows. (PROSE: Rose [+]Loading...["Rose (novelisation)"])