 Daughter of Donald Wener, an Inland Revenue tax inspector from East Ham who had served in the R.A.F., and Audrey (née Dixon), a bank clerk and former nurse, her younger sister was Louise Wener, musician (with Sleeper) and writer.Her brother Geoff attended Cambridge and managed Sleeper.She failed the 11-plus exam, going on to a secondary modern school, but due to the encouragement of her parents passed the 13-plus exam and attended grammar school, followed by the University of Nottingham, where she read politics.