Nick Mohammed rejected Ted Lasso multiple times.

The 45-year-old actor - who has been married to his Durham university sweetheart Becka since 2014, and has sons Finn and Arthur and daughter Annie with her - initially declined to audition for the Apple TV+ sports comedy show because he was "too busy".

Nick recalled to the Saturday Guardian magazine: "I was 39 when I got the part of Nate in Ted Lasso, an opportunity that very nearly passed me by.

"I'd been knocking around for a bit, doing comedy and acting. I was married and had two kids. I was very happy to be a comedian who did bits of telly, and was filming my TV show Intelligence with David Schwimmer.

"When they asked me to audition, I said I couldn't do it as I was too busy."

Nick was surprised that bosses offered him the role of Nathan "Nate" Shelley - a shy kit man for the fictional AFC Richmond football team who becomes a power-hungry villain as head coach of West Ham United - despite giving them one scene and not three, and looking "half-hearted and arrogant" in it.

However, Nick still declined the job because Nate "sounded too similar" to his "low-status sidekick guy" alter ego Joseph Harries in Intelligence, and Nick did not want to repeat the same type of role.

But he changed his mind after a chat with 57-year-old Bill Lawrence, the creator of Ted Lasso - which sees the titular American football coach (Jason Sudeikis) manage AFC Richmond.

Nick said: "[Bill] called me personally to ask me to do it - he explained my storyline, which was far more interesting than I'd realized for a supporting role."

And Nick is glad he agreed to play Nate because it changed his life.

He said: "I am so glad Bill did that, because being on Ted Lasso was life-changing. On a practical level, I could finally get a mortgage.

"But it was also such a surreal and exciting experience - the first time I went to America was to stand on stage at the Emmys."

In March 2025, the return of Ted Lasso for a fourth series was confirmed.

And 51-year-old show star Hannah Waddingham - who plays Rebecca Welton, the owner of AFC Richmond - accidentally let slip it might air in "August", when asked at the 2026 EE BAFTA Film Awards in February.