Growing up in Accrington, Stanton discovered he was a good dancer at the age of seven when he played an elf in a school play. He hoped to become a ballet dancer and for nine years studied classical ballet at the Carlotta Ballet School/Blackburn School of Dancing, winning a scholarship to
Sadler's Wells Theatre. Unfortunately, while on holiday in France at the age of 15 to watch the
Tour de France (he was a keen club cyclist), he was involved in a cycle accident where he caught his foot in a bicycle wheel, resulting in a permanently damaged ankle, ending any hopes of a dancing career. Stanton then tried chemical engineering but realised this was not the job for him alongside
Julie Christie and
James Bolam. During this time, Stanton worked part-time as a washer-up at a nearby restaurant at nights and various roles in
The Wars of the Roses with the
English Shakespeare Company in 1988 in addition to appearances in film and television. ==Selected filmography==