At the age of 10, he acted in a school play as the father of the ugly sisters in "Cinderella". His fly was undone and he got a laugh, and he took on acting based on the laugh. In 1944, he passed his eleven-plus exam, winning a scholarship to Hackney Downs School (formerly The Grocers' Company's School). After a year there he moved to Wilson's Grammar School in Camberwell (now Wilson's School in Wallington, London), which he left at 16 after gaining a School Certificate in six subjects. He then worked briefly as a filing clerk and messenger for a film company in Victoria Street and film producer Jay Lewis in Wardour Street.