Nicholas Rhea is the pseudonym of author Peter N. Walker, who was born in Glaisdale, a North York Moors village, in 1936. He was the oldest of three children born to an insurance agent and a teacher. Rhea won a scholarship to Whitby Grammar School but left at 16 to become a police cadet in 1952, based at Whitby, North Yorkshire, England. His interest in writing began in the late 1950s, and he had his first short story published in the Police Review magazine.
Rhea is best known for writing the Constable Nick Mystery series, which includes the book "Constable on the Hill," released in 1979. Before becoming a full-time writer, he continued to rise through the ranks at the region’s Police Headquarters in Northallerton and published his first novel, "Carnaby and the Hijackers," in 1967. Although he wrote 130 fiction and non-fiction books, Rhea is primarily known for his Constable series, which was inspired by his many years of police service.
After retiring in 1982 to concentrate on his writing, Rhea's work gained popularity when Yorkshire Television took an interest in his Constable books. This interest resulted in the highly popular TV series "Heartbeat," which ran for 18 seasons and over 350 episodes, achieving 18 million viewers per episode at its peak. Rhea had four children and eight grandchildren and lived with his wife in a quiet North Yorkshire village. He died in 2017.