[1] Born in London, to Tom and Edna Owen, he moved with his family while a child to Kingswood, Surrey, and was raised there and in the Redhill and Reigate area.

[2] Owen began his journalistic career on the Surrey Mirror in 1964, aged 17,[2][5] before moving to Fleet Street in 1968 to work for the Evening Standard.

[2] In 1981, Owen switched to television reporting, joining the BBC in the north of England, covering general and industrial stories for both regional and national news and current affairs programmes.

Also in October 2006, he appeared on ITV Play's nightly game show The Mint and gave away the jackpot of over £130,000 to the winner.

Owen has a regular Saturday afternoon show on Classic FM,[5] and contributes to other radio and TV programmes.

In 2023, he appeared in television adverts for Hattons of London, to promote a 1/8 gold sovereign coin of King Charles III and Queen Camilla.

Owen explained that the cancer was found unexpectedly when he had a scan for abdominal pains, and that he had an operation to remove the diseased right kidney with the encapsulated tumour.

Owen was a Vice-Patron of the Bluebell Railway's project to extend the line towards East Grinstead, and in November 2008 was the public face of the launch to remove 96,000 cubic metres (3,400,000 cu ft) of domestic waste from Imberhorne cutting.