Ben Richards is an English writer, born in 1964. Before writing novels and TV dramas, he worked for three years as a housing officer in Newham and Islington, London. As a research student at UCL's Department of Geography he spent a year investigating public housing in Chile and on his return to Britain began his first novel "to alleviate the boredom of analysing questionnaires" for his PhD thesis. Richards was a lecturer at the University of Birmingham and at University College London, where he taught development studies, specialising in South America. He is now a full-time writer. His novels are Throwing the House out of the Window, Don't Step on the Lines, The Silver River, A Sweetheart Deal, The Mermaid and the Drunks and Confidence. He also contributed to the New Puritans anthology of 2000. As a screenwriter, Richards has written for the BBC, ITV and Channel 4. He is the creator and writer of Outcasts. He has also written for the new British/French crime drama television series The Tunnel. [More at Wikipedia]

January 1st, 1964 in (Age 60)