Samuels was born on 12 August 1923 in London, England, to a family of Jewish origin. His grandfather, Jacob Samuels, left Lithuania for Edinburgh. He travelled to Australia and married Mary Michaelson, whom he had met in Edinburgh. They ran a general store in Walcha, New South Wales, where Samuels' father, Harry, was born. Harry ran a cinema in Moree before going to war in France with his brother, Lou, who won the Military Cross. Harry married Zelda Glass after the war and they settled in Cricklewood, London, where Samuels was born.