EastEnders actor known for playing gang lord who caused havoc in Peggy Mitchell's Queen Vic dies after 'short illness'
6 June 2024, 15:12 | Updated: 6 June 2024, 16:00
EastEnders actor Nicholas Ball has died aged 78 after a short illness, his agent has announced.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
The soap actor played gang lord Terry Bates, a local gang lord who attacked matriarch Peggy Mitchell - played by Barbara Windsor - while smashing up the Queen Victoria pub.
In a statement, Ball's agent said he "passed away following a short illness" following a "successful acting career on stage and screen" that "spanned an impressive six decades".
He was also known for his role in the drama Footballers' Wives where he took on the role of the chairman of the club and ex-rock star Garry Ryan.
Ball was then the lead in private detective show Hazell as the main character, James "Jim" Hazell, who is a cockney former policeman originally created by Gordon Williams and footballer Terry Venables, who wrote books under the name PB Yuill.
Ball also 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.
He also had roles in small and big screen films including war drama Overlord, thriller Rogue Male, crime drama The Krays: Dead Man Walking and Jilly Cooper adaptation The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous.
Ball recently filmed the 2024 rural-set drama The Kingdom By The Sea, opposite Coronation Street actress Rula Lenska.
He 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 following them meeting on the set of Not The Nine O'Clock News.
