Peter Nichols (b. 1927) is an English writer of stage plays, film and television. Born in Bristol, England, he was educated at Bristol Grammar School, and then did his National Service in the RAF for three years, going on to study acting at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. While he was working as a teacher he began to write television plays which achieved notice. His first play for the stage was The Hooded Terror, part of a season of new plays at the Little Theatre in Bristol He later wrote A Day in the Death of Joe Egg for the stage because he thought it would be unacceptable for television. Nichols' plays are hard to categorize. He is quoted as saying 'Do any damn thing you have to do to keep the heart and soul alive'. Despite the comic style, Nichols' plays deal with the most serious of themes. For instance in A Day in the Death of Joe Egg the burden of raising a hopelessly handicapped child shatters a couple's marriage. Joe Egg is based on Nichols' own experiences of raising a handicapped child.
