Dredger is a seven-foot tall, French-speaking henchman in the employ of Lord Blackwood. He has visible scarring on the left side of his face, though its cause is unknown. It may be that even his name is only an Anglophone approximation of something rather more French.
Biography
Dredger is first seen helping two other thugs burn down the laboratory of the ginger midget. He and Holmes have a fight that spills out onto the streets of London and ends in a shipyard, where he knocks Holmes unconscious and sinks a ship. He is later seen helping another small group of thugs set up Blackwood's machine. He and Watson grapple; the fight ended with Watson holding Dredger in a chokehold until the latter passed out. The last thing he heard before losing consciousness was Watson whispering into his ear, "Relax, I'm a doctor," meaning Watson knew just how long to hold on to make Dredger pass out, without actually killing him.
Abilities
Dredger was shown to be remarkably skillful at hand-to-hand combat, as well as cunning and incredibly strong. He had a habit of being aggressive and unorthodox in combat, using brute strength as opposed to style when he was fighting Sherlock.