Biography
Nicholas Ball, also credited as John Nicholas Ball, was an English actor. He was born on 11 April 1946 in Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, and trained at the Bristol Old Vic. He died on 4 June 2024.
Ball was best known for playing the title role of private detective James Hazell in the ITV series Hazell (1978–1979). His film roles included Arthur in Overlord (1975), Derebridge in Lifeforce (1985) and Jack Snr. in Croupier (1998). On television he appeared in The Young Ones (1982), Red Dwarf (1988), Hustle (2004) and Jonathan Creek (1997), among many others.
He played the gangster Terry Bates in EastEnders (2007–2009) and Garry Ryan in Footballers' Wives (2005) and its spin-off Footballers' Wives: Extra Time. Ball was married to Pamela Stephenson from 1978 to 1984 and later to Ayda Kay.
