Hughes was born at 21 Leven Street in
Kirkdale, Liverpool to Ada (née Tulloch) and William Arthur Hughes. He had one younger brother, Gordon. He was brought up in
Norris Green, where he attended Ranworth Square Primary School and Abbotsford Secondary Modern School. He started his acting career in
repertory at the
Victoria Theatre in
Stoke-on-Trent and soon made his
West End debut in the
Lionel Bart and
Alun Owen musical
Maggie May. His other West End productions included the stage version of
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,
Say Goodnight to Grandma,
The Secret Life of Cartoons and several series of
Run For Your Wife. He later played Pistol in an open-air production of
Henry V at
Barnwell Manor. He also toured extensively in Britain and abroad. Hughes' film credits included
Smashing Time (1967),
The Bofors Gun (1968),
Till Death Us Do Part (1969),
The Virgin Soldiers (1969),
The Man Who Had Power Over Women (1970),
Revenge (1971),
Carry On at Your Convenience (1971),
Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall (1973),
Tiffany Jones (1973),
Confessions of a Driving Instructor (1976),
Nijinsky (1980), and
Flick (2008). He was also the voice of
Paul McCartney in
the Beatles' 1968 cartoon film
Yellow Submarine.
Shadows of Fear;
Z-Cars;
Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased);
Flying Lady;
Making Out;
Coasting;
Doctor Who;
Spender; and
Boon. He played Trinculo in a version of
The Tempest for the
BBC and Squire Clodpoll in
Good Friday 1663, one of
Channel Four's new
avant-garde operas. His comedy appearances on TV include
The Likely Lads,
Please Sir!, ''
Dad's Army, He appeared on That Antony Cotton Show on 6 September 2007, in which he spoke about his role in a short film called Expresso'', which also starred Sir
Norman Wisdom. Hughes played the part of a man who visits a coffee shop for a "normal" coffee but is served by a pompous waiter. The film was sold in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support. In 2007, he performed the Angel Gabriel in the BBC production
Liverpool Nativity. From 2007, he also appeared as uncle Keith in the first three series of the E4 drama
Skins. ==Personal life==