Bob Grant was born at Hammersmith and educated at Aldenham School. After National Service as a 2nd Lieutenant with the Royal Artillery he trained at the Preparatory Academy to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Highgate, London. He entered show business as a stand-up comic, playing the halls from Chelsea Palace to the Glasgow Empire. He played in repertory at York, Horsham, High Wycombe, Leicester, Oxford and Scarborough and toured with many productions including Big Soft Nellie and Charley's Aunt. He played Kitely in the Theatre Workshop production of Ben Jonson's Every Man in His Humour both at Stratford and the Théâtre Sarah‑Bernhardt, Paris, for the 1960 Fourth International Season of the Theatre of the Nations Festival. He was awarded the best supporting performance at the festival by