His father died when he was three years old, and he and his elder brother and sister were brought up by their mother, a Wesleyan Methodist in Wood Green, London.

[5] He then performed at the Chanticleer and Arts theatres in London, also directing and broadcasting for the first times during this period.

[3] Peter Moffatt took him straight away to Moorfields Eye Hospital, and Payne was told that, if he could lie still for a week without moving his head, his retina would join up again so preserving his sight.

[citation needed] After retiring from acting, Payne continued to concentrate on writing crime/detective novels.

In later years he worked regularly on radio, but in the 1990s he developed sepsis and there was subsequent brain damage.