Oldham was born in Gateshead, England, and spent his early years there, before his family moved south.
[1] They moved again, this time to Australia when he was 15; he opted to stay in the UK to finish his schooling, and moved in with the family next door, who were keen morris dancers.
[2] Oldham studied law at Cambridge University before working as an investment banker and entrepreneur.
He gave up his career in banking to become an actor, graduating from drama school at 32.
[1] Working as Tom Oldham, he enjoyed some success as a voiceover artist[1][3][4][5] and appeared in one episode of Heartbeat.