 Born in Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland, Blakely attended Sedbergh School in Cumbria.At the age of 18 he started work in his family's sports goods shop (the Athletic Stores on the corner of Wellington Place and Queen Street in Belfast), before going on to work as a timber-loader on the railways.In 1957, after a spell of amateur dramatics with the Bangor Drama Club, he turned professional with the Group Theatre, Belfast.