TV STAR Nicholas Ball had a decades-long acting career in many much loved shows.
Find out more about the long career of the late Eastenders star and some of his other famous roles.
Who was Nicholas Ball?
Nicholas Ball was born in April, 1946, in Leamington Spa in Warwickshire.
He had a long acting career, including famously as vicious gang lord Terry Bates in long-running BBC soap Eastenders.
He also starred in an infamous episode of the terrifying 1980's anthology series Hammer House of Horror.
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Sorry to hear of the passing of Nicholas Ball. More commonly seen in our house in the TV series ‘Hazell’ for me he will always be that conniving trickster (to put it mildly) in the Hammer House TV episode ‘The House That Bled to Death.’"
Writer Sally-Anne Martyn
The House That Bled To Death featured Ball alongside Rachel Davies.
They played a couple who moved into a house that was the scene of a horrendous murder, and a series of events sees them forced to flee for their lives.
How old was Nicholas Ball when he died?
Nicholas Ball was 78 when he died.
He'd had an acting career spanning decades, and news of his death sparked a huge number of tributes being paid from former co-stars and showbiz pals.
We are saddened to hear that Nicholas Ball has passed away. Our thoughts are with Nicholas’s family and friends."
Eastenders
Ball had only recently filmed the rural-set drama The Kingdom By The Sea, opposite Coronation Street actress Rula Lenska.
The film is set for release in October 2024.
It wasn't the first time he's worked with the Corrie star.
The pair also appeared together in a play called That's Love in 2008.
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What was Nicholas Ball's cause of death?
News of Nicholas Ball's death was announced by his agent on June 6th, 2024.
It was announced Ball had died after a battle with a short illness.
There hadn't been any news beforehand that Ball was unwell.
Was Nicholas Ball married and did he have any children?
Nicholas Ball is survived by his widow Ayda.
Ball was previously married to comedian Sir Billy Connolly's second wife, the comedy actress turned therapist Pamela Stephenson after they met on the set of Not The Nine O'Clock News.
It's thought he didn't have any children.
Who did Nicholas Ball play in Eastenders?
Nicholas Ball was well known for playing gang lord Terry Bates in BBC soap EastEnders.
His most famous moment in the long-running show came when he attacked Peggy Mitchell (Barbara Windsor) while smashing up the Queen Victoria pub.
Terry Bates was the leader of a football firm, and was a character in the show until 2009.
The character was reintroduced in 2019 when his corpse was found under a funeral parlour.
Ball also starred in ITV drama Footballers' Wives, in which he took on chairman of the club and ex-rock star Garry Ryan.
His long career also included playing the lead in detective show Hazell as the main character, James "Jim" Hazell.
Ball appeared in episodes of crime shows Jonathan Creek, Hustle, Heartbeat and Bergerac along with comedies Red Dwarf and The Young Ones and drama The Crezz.
