In his youth Tony had been a child actor, appearing on Children's Hour alongside Violet Carson, Doris Speed and Alan Rothwell under his real name (for example, all four appeared in a play together on the life of Humphrey Chetham broadcast on 17th August 1952 at 5.00pm). Realising that his acting ambitions would not be met, he moved into script-writing with an unsolicited episode of Shadow Squad which was eventually commissioned and transmitted by Granada Television in two parts on 3rd and 6th November 1958. Warren was given an exclusive contract with Granada in March 1960 and found himself on the team of writers working on adaptations of the W.E. Johns Biggles books, an assignment which he loathed.