EastEnders has confirmed the death of former star Nicholas Ball, known for his role as Terry Bates, with tributes flooding in for the ‘brilliant’ and ‘underrated’ actor.
Actor Nicholas Ball, who was best known for his role as the gangster Terry Bates on British soap EastEnders, has passed away aged 78. In a short statement, his agent confirmed that the English actor had died following “a short illness”, on Thursday, June 6. He noted that the celebrity “successful acting career on stage and screen spanned an impressive six decades.”
Nicholas Ball enjoyed a varied career on British TV
While one of Ball’s most celebrated roles came on EastEnders, the television star enjoyed one of his first small screen appearances on rival soap Coronation Street, starring in a lone episode in 1970 as soccer hooligan Spider Smart.
Ball went on to make around 100 credited acting appearances across both the small screen and the big screen – including the lead role in the British detective drama Hazell in the late 70s, a role many people still associate with him today.
Ball was often employed as something of a character actor, with several credits as a gangster or criminal, including in multiple portrayals of the notorious London gangsters, the Kray twins.
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Ball married psychologist Pamela Stephenson in 1978, though the pair separated within three years. Stephenson married Scottish comedian Billy Connolly in 1989, and the pair remain together today.
Tributes paid to ‘underrated’ EastEnders star
A host of tributes have been paid to the later actor on Twitter (X) over the weekend, with the official EastEnders account writing: “We are saddened to hear that Nicholas Ball has passed away. Our thoughts are with Nicholas’ family and friends.”
A fan of the long-running soap added: “Nicholas Ball was absolutely brilliant as Terry Bates in EastEnders. One of the show’s more underrated villains.”
A second fan concurred, scribing: “Nicholas Ball, a great actor. Rest in peace. Loved him in the television series HAZELL (1978–1979).”
In a post from March this year, a TV archives account recalled Ball’s brief appearance on the Coronation Street cobbles, uploading a two-minute clip that shows just how much TV has changed over the last 50 years:
Ball is survived by his widow, Ayda.
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