Prior to his involvement with the Doctor Who universe, he had been a production accountant. His longest tour of duty was on the Scottish soap opera River City and on the Mancunian drama Burn It. His career began in the late 1990s. Much of his early career was dominated by an association with Peakviewing Transatlantic PLC, a South African production house. It was in this period that he apparently met and started working with long-term Doctor Who colleague, Stephen Nicholas, on such projects as The Little Unicorn, The Last Leprechaun and Africa.