Born as Thomas Brown, he discovered another Tom Brown was already in the profession and so decided to take his mother's maiden name. The son of Tom and Jean Brown, founders of Brown and Whitaker builders based in Ingleton and Bentham, he first got involved in drama at Ingleton Middle School. Tom later moved on to Settle High School where he took the lead in the play, The Local War. He recalls: "I realised I wanted to be an actor after appearing in school productions and was inspired by teachers Pete Eastman, Peter Huby and Keith Reeves." At the same time he was acting in sketches at Ingleton Methodist Church and a visit to the Hollybush Youth Camp with the church's youth group led to two years' travelling the country with the Christian theatre company, Activate. He then attended the Birmin