Charles Gray was born in Paisley, Scotland and is a law graduate of the University of Edinburgh. After brief stints as an actor, puppeteer, food service dogsbody and baby photographer, he became a national newspaper journalist, first in Glasgow and then London. He subsequently worked as a defence intelligence analyst, and finally as a PR and marketing consultant. He now runs his own marketing consultancy based in East Lothian. He is married with two grown-up children and lives in Gullane.