Paul Nicholas

Paul Nicholas (born Paul Oscar Beuselinck; 3 December 1944) is an English actor and singer. He started out with a pop career, but soon changed to musical theatre, playing the lead role in Jesus Christ Superstar at the West End’s Palace Theatre in 1972. Later, in the 1970s, he returned to the pop charts, and he began an acting career – starring in the 1983 BBC sitcom Just Good Friends, for which he is best known. The show won a BAFTA and Nicholas was nominated for best comedy performance. After the TV series ended, he returned to musical theatre and various other entertainment roles, including producing and directing. He is also known for his more recent television role in EastEnders as [[Gavin Sullivan]and ‘The Real Marigold Hotel’ as himself. Early life Paul Nicholas was born Paul Oscar Beuselinck on 3 December 1944 in Peterborough. His father was an entertainment lawyer, Oscar Beuselinck, whose clients included Sean Connery, The Beatles, Richard Harris, John Osborne, Private Eye and MGM. His paternal grandfather also called Oscar Beuselinck, was Belgian and had been a chef in the merchant navy during World War II, before becoming head chef on the Union-Castle Line ships between the United Kingdom and South Africa. His maternal grandfather was a London docker. The family spent holidays at his maternal grandparents' home on the Isle of Sheppey, until Nicholas was 10. After his parents divorced when he was 12, his father's family home was at Letchmore Heath, Hertfordshire, opposite the Bhaktivedanta Manor. His paternal grandparents, Winnie and Oscar, lived in a small cottage on the grounds.