Cathedral school
Born in Hereford, he spent the first 16 years of his life living in a pub (something he would later write about in his book "Boy at the Commercial)". After being educated at Hereford Cathedral School, where he was Head Boy, he matriculated to and graduated from St Catharine's College, Cambridge, returning to Hereford Cathedral school as a drama and English teacher. He began writing radio plays in his spare time, and was eventually hired full-time by the BBC. His productions for them included "Crisp and Even Brightly" (a comedic retelling of the story of Good King Wenceslas) and "Operation Lightning Pegasus" (which covered the Siege of Troy).