He attended Barnsley Grammar School and the University of Sheffield,[6] where he supplemented his student grant with appearances as a professional wrestler, going under the ring name "Leon Arras the Man From Paris".

He managed to combine this with regular performances as "Leon Arras", whose appearances included bouts on World of Sport, and in Paris, Milan, Zürich and Barcelona.

He played Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream (BBC TV, 1981) and had a recurring role in the classic sitcom Porridge as dim-witted prison inmate Cyril Heslop[11] who, when accused of being illiterate, utters the memorable line "I read a book once!

He also appeared in An American Werewolf in London, The First Great Train Robbery, Jabberwocky, Alien 3, Leon the Pig Farmer and as General Douglas in a Bollywood hit 1942: A Love Story.

Glover's performance in Kes led to parts at the Royal Court Theatre, London, notably in Lindsay Anderson's The Changing Room (1971).

A season with Britain's Royal Shakespeare Company followed, where his roles included Charles the wrestler (and, drawing on his wrestling experience, the fight arranger) in As You Like It,[12] and a robust Peter in Romeo and Juliet.

For the Royal National Theatre he appeared in The Mysteries (as God, creating the world with the help of a real fork-lift truck),[13] Saint Joan and Don Quixote.

The Canterbury Tales ("Chaucer wi' nowt taken owt"[14])(West End) was followed by a return to television and the Play for Today series, both as writer and performer and, in turn, more screen roles.