 Burrell was raised in Grassmoor, Derbyshire, a coal-mining village.His father was a lorry driver and it was initially assumed he would go to work in the local colliery, but he had decided aged eight that he wanted to work at Buckingham Palace after a trip to London, where he witnessed the Changing of the Guard.He attended William Rhodes Secondary School in Chesterfield before attending High Peak College in Buxton, where he studied hotel management.