Ben Richards (born 27 March 1972 in West Sussex, England[1]) is a British stage and television actor and dancer.
In 2004, he joined the regular cast of the ITV drama Footballers' Wives and after the series ended he resumed theatre work.
[2] He appeared in supporting roles in the productions of Radio Times, Up on the Roof, Hot Mikado and Smokey Joe's Cafe.
He later returned to the West End production of Grease, this time playing the lead character Danny Zuko.
[1] Richards made his film debut in the 1997 movie Bring Me the Head of Mavis Davis and in 1999 secured a role in Julie and the Cadillacs.
[5] In early 2006, it was announced that Richards had joined the cast of Holby City playing a new character, Justin Fuller,[6] remaining in the series for four months.
However, Richards told Laura Davidson of the Sunday Mail that he still wanted to pursue his career in musical theatre.
In 2011, Richards signed up to appear in a production of Peter Pan playing the role of Captain Hook, which premiered at the Grand Canal Theatre.
[10] In an interview with RTE, Richards revealed that he had previously auditioned for roles in Coronation Street but was unsuccessful because of his southern accent.
[12] In June 2012, it was announced that Richards would be playing the part of Franklin Hart, Jr. in the first UK tour production of the Broadway musical, 9 to 5.
[14] In April 2015, it was announced that he had joined the cast of the soap opera Hollyoaks, playing the role of sergeant Ben Bradley.
[17] In March 2016, it was announced that Richards would be playing Frank Farmer alongside Beverley Knight in the West End revival of The Bodyguard.
[21] In October 2021, it was announced by Richards' management that he had been cast in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale as Gavin.