Hunter was born in Birmingham, Warwickshire. He came from a working-class background. He was named Alan Hunter at birth. He later changed his name by deed poll to Al Hunter. He wrote scripts for his own amusement from the age of 15. In his spare time he worked for £15 a night as a stand-up comedian in clubs. On discovering that he could earn the same amount for shedding his clothes every evening, he became a stripper. "My stripping routine was actually funnier than my stand-up one," he said.