Nicholas Ball was an English actor best known for playing the title role of James Hazell in the television series Hazell. His film credits included roles in D-Day drama Overlord, Hobe Tooper's sci-fi horror Lifeforce and Mike Hodges' Croupier. In later years Ball played violent gangster Terry Bates in EastEnders between 2007 and 2009 and Garry Ryan in series five of Footballers' Wives and both series of its spin-off programme Footballers' Wives: Extra Time.