After his parents divorced, he moved with his mother and sister to north Belfast, where he attended the Finiston School and Technical College.

He enlisted in the British Army during World War II and managed a military canteen, but was discharged once it emerged that he had lied about his age.

There, in 1982, he appeared in Richard Eyre's productions of The Beggar's Opera, Guys and Dolls, and Bertolt Brecht's Schweyk in the Second World War, as well as The Prince of Homburg, directed by John Burgess.

He made numerous appearances on UK television, including popular series Callan, the Ronald Howard-led Sherlock Holmes, The Avengers, Home James!, Casualty, The Bill, Minder, Doctor Who, The Saint, and Heartbeat.

[9] In the late 1970s, Towb appeared in a series of TV commercials advertising Younger's Tartan Special beer, which were shown on heavy rotation in Scotland.