Paul 'Des' Ballard

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Paul Ballard (born 9 March 1982 in Essex, England) is an English television presenter and stage actor best known by his nickname 'Des' as the co-presenter, along with Fearne Cotton, of the Saturday morning children's television programme Diggit from 1998 until 2002. He left Diggit shortly before its relaunch into Diggin' It.

Career[]

Ballard made his TV debut in 1995, playing a trick or treater who beat up Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson Bottom episode "Terror". He was next seen as co-presenter of the Disney Club in the mid 1990s. After a change in the show's format, he presented a new Sunday morning slot called Roadhog where he would take a Volkswagen Camper Van, decorated with ears and orange spots, on the road to viewers homes and schools.

He appeared on a one off Daz washing powder TV advertisement, with his big sister. It featured him winning something out of a toy grabbing machine, and his mother criticising him for wasting money.

He also continued his association with the Disney Club which too had changed format and was now presented by Craig Doyle, the twins, Sam and Matt and Reggie Yates (known as Robbie on Disney Club) between 1995–1998.

In April 1998, Ballard and Fearne Cotton launched a new interactive Disney slot as part of GMTV called Diggit.

He continued with the show through until 2002 with a number of co-presenters including Jack Stratton, winner of a second nationwide search for a new presenter in December 1998, and Laura Jaye and Victoria Hickson, who replaced Fearne Cotton in 2001.

Ballard also starred as Smee in a stage production of Peter Pan at the Central Theatre in Kent in 2001.

Ballard's last TV appearance in 2001 led viewers years later to wonder what he was doing now; in an interview his former colleague Fearne Cotton admitted she wanted to know where Ballard was now as they had lost touch.^[1]

Personal life[]

In July 2021, Ballard was living in Theydon Bois when he pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving via videolink from HMP Belmarsh. Ballard admitted causing the death of two people in an eight car pile-up in Essex.^[2] He was sentenced in August that year to nine years in jail.^[3]

Later that month he was found guilty of rape, attempted rape, assault, criminal damage and threats to kill after an incident at a hotel in Hatfield Heath. He had contested the charges but was found guilty by a jury at Chelmsford Crown Court following two hours of deliberations, with police saying "Ballard has never taken responsibility for his actions".^[4]

References[]

• Cast and Crew for Bottom 'Terror'