Barlow was born on 18 January 1936 in Blackpool. His father, a solicitor, passed away when he was five, leaving him to be brought up by his mother. After completing his education at 18, he enlisted in the British Army, where he served for 15 years.
In 1969, Barlow decided to leave the military and embark on a career in acting, encouraged by Trevor Nunn and Sir Laurence Olivier. He developed and performed a solo show reflecting on his choice to pursue acting. Prior to this, he had achieved considerable success with another one-man production, My Army, which recounted his experiences as a soldier in the 1960s. This show toured extensively for many years.
Among his most recognisable roles was Mr Morrow in the 1989 film The Tall Guy, where he played a blind man who was allergic to his guide dog, starring alongside Jeff Goldblum. He also portrayed Tyssan in Doctor Who in the serial Destiny of the Daleks. His theatre credits included performances with the Royal Shakespeare Company and a memorable turn as the BFG at the Polka Theatre in Wimbledon. On screen, he took on the role of Mr Treacher in Hot Fuzz and, in 2007, played an Ancient Blind Oracle in HBO’s Rome. He made frequent television appearances, from a role as John Rothwell in a 1973 episode of Emmerdale to playing Wilder in Sherlock in 2016.
Barlow suffered hearing loss in the 1950s while testing a high-velocity muzzle rifle—most likely an early prototype of the L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle (SLR)—for the British Army. However, in 2008, he underwent surgery for a cochlear implant, which restored some of his hearing. His journey through this experience was documented in a BBC Radio 4 programme, It’s My Story, in an episode titled Earfull – From Silence into Sound.
In 2016, he took part in Him, an autobiographical theatrical production exploring themes of memory, ageing, and performance. The piece was created by theatre-maker Sheila Hill, in collaboration with videographer Hugo Glendinning and musician Sebastiano Dessanay.
